The Russian Convit
by pietoraven36
Summary: Nero is being held captive and Raven goes to save him. It doesn't go as planned and they are both captured. The last people you would expect to be involved are the Furans but..This is set as if the Furans and Raven haven't met since she left as a child. Find out what the Furans did in the fourteen years that weren't written.What would have happened if Anastasia hadn't been scarred?
1. Chapter 1

"Female assassin!" the man shouted. Nero's head shot around, looking for what he knew was possible.

"Across the top!" another man yelled. Nero looked up. Raven ran across the roof of the large building just right of the field he was being held, her katanas strapped to her back as usual. The guards surrounding him put their guns up.

The chief watched for a second with narrowed eyes "Shoot her down." he ordered, his Russian accent coming strong.

"No!" Nero yelled. The guards hit him with their rifles at the sound of his voice. He grunted in slight pain, glancing up at Raven again. She still sprinted strong, seeking anyway to get to him.

"Sir, she's moving too quickly!" the man called

"Shoot her down. Shoot her bloody well down or we're all dead." the chief barked.

"No. Take her alive." one of the guards spat "It'll be easier to make this one talk" he gestured at Nero, who glared, although he felt an oncoming sense of dread of what he meant. The chief nodded slightly.

"Fine. Tranquilize her." he ordered "But if she dies from the fall it's no loss."

Nero watched in grave concern as the man upped his dart gun, He fired two shots, one hitting her neck, the other, her thigh. Nero knew as she fell, Raven had a slim chance of surviving. At least two hundred feet onto bare, cold concrete below

"Find her body!" the chief spat "Dead or alive and bring it to me."

Nero glared at him with hate filled eyes. The team left, armed heavily with guns and grenades. The chief turned to him after several impatient minutes.

We'll see how tough your pet assassin really is." he sneered. Nero struggled to hide his feelings of worry.

"She'll kill you all." he said coldly "You won't be able to stop her next time."

"_If _there is a next time." the chief laughed, His radio beeped.

"Her body is located. She's alive. The female assassin is alive."

The chief shot Nero a furious look, who returned it triumphantly. His radio beeped again.

"Shall we terminate?"

"No." the chief growled "Shoot her. Injure her badly, than bring her to me."

"You can't shoot her in cold blood." Nero growled.

"Now!" the chief barked into his radio "Tie her up as well. I want her as uncomfortable as possible."

"You're insane." Nero said coldly "Injuring a woman when she can't defend herself."

"But we both know she's not just any woman, Max." the chief smiled darkly

"It's not human." Nero spat "Where's your honor Gabdin?"

"All in my black heart, Nero." The chief laughed.

"Let her go. Leave her out of this."

"I know you're trying to stop her suffering. It's sweet, but too late. She's already bleeding and being brought back." The chief gave him a triumphant look and turned away. Nero dropped his head and closed his eyes. Several minutes later, the retrieval team came into sight. Two men carried Raven between them and blood dripped to the grass and concrete below their feet. They dropped her roughly to the ground, and went over to the chief.

"She's unconscious and strangely unharmed from the fall. We don't know for sure what happened. Perhaps a concussion, but that's all."

The chief narrowed his eyes. "And now?"

"We put a bullet to her leg and to her shoulder." the man replied. Nero caught glimpses of Raven, but couldn't see how bad it actually was.

"Good." The chief purred. He went and knelt by her body. "A shame too. She has such a pretty face." He pulled out a long, sharp scavenger's knife.

"Don't touch her!" Nero spat. He was shoved back by two of the guards. The chief smiled coldly at him and looked at her shoulder wound. He slowly began to cut out the bullet, his blade dripping red. Nero winced as he only deepened it.

"Stop!" he snapped over the rising laughter behind him. The chief ignored him and began to painstakingly carve the Russian Convit sign into her neck just below her ear. It was a triangle with two lines crossing through it, then a circle. Nero looked away, his stomach clenching.

"Just one more." The chief ran his knife across her ankle, a long bloody cut following it. "That should hold her."

"You're mad." Nero hissed through his teeth. "She's completely defenseless."

"That's the only way." the Russian man smiled. He gestured at another man "Wake her up."

Nero glared at him. The young man injected liquid into her arm and stepped back. After a second, Raven groaned in pain and shuffled. The chief laughed and pressed down on her shoulder. She gasped, almost cried, in pain and with her good arm tried to push his foot away. He eased up a bit.

"That's my good girl." He purred and took his foot off "Lift her up."

Two men came on either side and pulled her to her feet. She could hardly stand on either leg, but they held her in a way that forced her to take her own weight.

"What's your name, love?" the chief asked. Raven spat at him, her breaths broken with pain.

"Your name?" he repeated, pushing down on her shoulder.

"Raven." She hissed. He shook his head.

"Your real name." he growled.

"My name is Raven!" she spat. He kicked her viciously in her thigh gun wound and she fell to her knees gasping in agony.

"Your name!" the chief ordered. Raven glared at him. He looked at the leader of the squad.

"Weapons?" he asked

"Twin katanas and grenades." The man replied.

"Very well, Raven. I can see right now, I can't force you without putting you into a coma and you're no use to me dead, so…" he clapped his hands. "Take them away please. Wash her down first. Can't have blood stains."

The men pulled Nero back. He tried to look after Raven, but was swept away.


	2. A Cherished Friendship

**Please review it if you read! It makes me feel so good! **** More chapters on the way! Sorry this one is short!**

Nero paced in front of his cell door, anxiously. Were they ever going to bring Raven in? He knew she was hurt, badly, very badly.

The door opened and his head whipped over. A single man shoved Raven in, harshly. She fell immediately, gasping in pain. Nero quickly knelt beside her, glaring at the enemy as he left. He rolled her over.

"Natalya?" he said

"I'm alright." She said through clenched teeth. Her wounds very slowly leaked blood, soaking her clothes.

"They hurt you in cold blood," Nero said furiously, looking at her injuries. "How did you survive that fall?"

Raven winced "Instincts. I landed barely before I was out."

"Well thank God." he massaged her shoulder gently "I can't believe Gabdin did this."

"Is that his name?"

Nero nodded "I'm sorry, Natalya. You could have gotten away."

"Not without you." she murmured.

"But now…" he swore under his breath.

"It was stupid of me to go so high, but you were surrounded. It's my fault, Max." she hissed in pain.

"None of this is." he shook his head "They're horrible, horrible people. They….you were unconscious when they found you?"

Raven nodded, wincing. "I hit the ground and was gone. Then they woke me up to this."

Nero swore again "That's not right. You were completely helpless."

Raven made a small sound of pain, when he got near he wound with his hands "I'm okay." she inhaled sharply, but reclaimed her words with a gasp, Her ankle still bled and Nero put a little bit of pressure on it. She winced.

"What's this on my neck?" she asked, feeling it gently, Nero narrowed his eyes. "The Russian Convit sign. He cut it in."

"I can tell," Raven winced again. Nero gingerly wiped away blood on her neck. Sweat beaded on her forehead and neck.

"Lay down. Let me rub it." Nero said. Raven shook her head.

"I'm fine." She hissed out. Nero lowered her anyway and began to massage her thigh wound.

"Max, really. You need to rest. It's going to be hard tomorrow." Raven said painfully.

"I don't know how you can say that right now and be so selfless." Nero didn't break his eyes from her wound. "It'll be worse for you."

"I'll get through it." Raven grunted, her face a mask of pain.

"But you'll fair better this way." Nero didn't stop. "Don't argue."

Raven sighed quietly and let her head rest on the floor as he rubbed her aching wound. She breathed heavily, her eyes closing in exhaustion from the constant pain.


	3. The Unlikely Rescue

**Hey friends! Just wanted to remind you that this is set as if Nero, Raven and the Furans haven't met since Raven's mission to kill Nero so Anastasia was never shot out of the helicopter and is still gorgeous. Kind of like present H.I.V.E. time except like Zero Hour and everything** **didn't really happen, or yet. That is why this is Fan fiction! Please review!**

The next morning, six men beat Raven for the hour, paying specific attention to her injuries. Nero was interrogated nearby, unable to do anything but watch due to his chains and guards. Raven did not give them the satisfaction of a cry once, but a few gasped escaped her. She couldn't walk before and now was even less so. She was on he hands and knees.

The chief smiled at his anxious face "Helpful no?"

Nero glared at him "What do you want, Gabin?"

"I want G.L.O.V.E. Nero." he replied "The president wants Russia."

"You'll never get it," Nero growled, wincing at Raven.

"Your poor pet." Gabdin said with mock sorrow. "I think my men rather enjoy it, because she's such a small woman."

Nero snarled at him. Suddenly Raven struck back and snapped one of the man's heads back. He toppled over, dead before he hit the ground. The other men grabbed her viciously and other men hurried to the fallen man. Gabdin stood up and looked at her.

"He's dead, sir." a man growled. The chief's eyes narrowed and Nero stretched desperately. Gabdin hit Raven across the face with his pistol. She bared her teeth and he hit her again. Then he kicked her hard in her thigh and brought his gun down on her shoulder. Raven finally cried out, and dropped to her knees. He grabbed her chin, wrenching her head back.

"You will pay for that." He said close to her ear, stabbing his gun painfully in her chest. "Double it." he ordered the men. "Don't stop until I say."

The men nodded, pleasure and fury in their eyes. They ganged up now, two at a time. The chief came back over to Nero, who glared at him.

"She defends herself." he spat "Stop this cruelty."

Gabdin gave him a cold look "Trust me, Max you will discover how unfair and cruel I can be. Especially to a woman."

Nero slowly and furiously shook his head.

"Now. I need the initiative and adapt codes and keys. What and where are they?"

Nero lifted his chin defiantly. Gabdin glanced over his shoulder at Raven, just in time to see her snarl and spit, rushing one of the men. He smiled darkly at her.

"All of you. Take her into the room. "he jerked his chin "You can have all the fun you want in there, but she is to be left alive, understood?"

The group nodded and gave Raven cold taunts as they hauled her away. Her face was terrified as she looked desperately at Nero. She struggled best she could, but nothing came of it. Nero stared, a distraught, apologetic look in his eyes. She winced and was taken around the corner.

"Gabdin, _stop_." Nero spat at him "Let Raven go, this is madness."

"Don't tell me a _man_ is now fighting for feminine rights." the chief sneered "It's not like that in Russia, and it won't be like that when we rule."

Nero glared at him.

"Now the initiative and adapt codes."

"Never." Nero snarled "I don't even have them. They're separated across the globe."

"Then you will tell me where." the chief smiled.

Nero said nothing. A faint scream echoed from the hall and Nero's eyes widened in horror. Raven screamed again.

"Poor, sweet Raven," Gabdin said softly. Nero closed his eyes and tried to block it out.'

Gabdin interrogated him for the next half an hour. Raven cried mostly the whole. Suddenly there was an abrupt stop and a sharp man yell. The chief's radio beeped.

"Chief! She's killed General Ryadkin!" came a man's furious voice. "I request permission to kill this witch where she stands!"

Gabdin slowly replied "No. Bring her back out here." he ordered, his voice shaking with fury, Nero waited, anxiety rising in his throat.

The now four men came pulling Raven out. Her face was strained and even paler than usual. Pain radiated off her. Gabdin walked up to her, slowly. The men held her up to face him. The chief hit her thigh and kicked her down. He put a foot on her throat, pushing down hard right away. Raven tried to push him off, but he only added more pressure. She let out a strangle cry, her throat catching.

"Don't touch any of them…..again." he glared down coldly at her. Raven's eyes rolled and he released her. She coughed and gasped for air and he stepped on her shoulder. Raven cried.

"Cuff her hands!" Gabdin ordered. A man reached for his belt and handed over handcuffs. They jerked her hands together and secured them.

"Now. "he kicked her face. "No killing is the only order men. Have away here."

The four men called some buddies over and Raven's abuse restarted. Nero watched in remorse, his face distressed.

"Feel bad?" Gabdin asked "Don't worry, you'll feel worse later."

Nero looked at him coldly, "Hurting you does you nothing, yet you persist."

"Gleefully." he responded.

"What are you proving?"

"Our power." Gabdin smiled.

"Over a helpless woman? That sure proves power." Nero sneered. Raven gasped and Nero glanced over. The men mercilessly rained blows to her injuries one at a time. She still snapped back at them.

"Alright." Gabdin stood up, pulling a pistol out of his coat. "Unfortunately, Raven, although it has been a pleasure, you are more trouble then you're worth. _Do svidanya._"

He aimed the pistol at her head.

"No!" Nero yelled. There was a gunshot and Gabdin flew back against the wall. Two more shots and two other men fell.

Pietor Furan stepped in the door, lowering his gun. He advanced on the four men and quickly killed them.

"Pietor!" Gabdin shouted weakly, blood spreading over his shirt.

"Hello, Gabdin. Wonderful seeing you again."

"You're a traitor to the Convit!" Gabdin spat. Pietor smiled.

"Yes I am. So I guess this is goodbye." He fired again. Nero stared in shock as the chief was killed. Pietor dropped his gun and hurried over to Raven, who had fallen with the men, and hadn't moved. He undid her cuffs and checked her pulse.

"Call the medic." he ordered his men, who walked in after. Pietor retrieved his gun and ran over to Nero.

"What are you doing here?" Nero growled.

"Rescuing you. Believe me, the only reason I'm keeping _you_ alive is because my sister requested it. Stand still." Pietor slammed his foot on the chain connected to the wall. It broke off and Pietor picked up the end of it, keeping his gun trained on Nero.

"Let's move." he ordered his men. They had picked up Raven and hurried out the door.

"Why are you doing this?" Nero narrowed his eyes. Pietor snapped his wrist chains and tossed them aside.

"Come on. Questions later." He held up a second pistol "Can I trust you?"

"My words exactly." Nero replied.

Pietor narrowed his eyes "Cover Natalya." he handed him the gun, and ran after his men. Nero followed him and took his position next to Raven. They started running down the hall.

"They're they are!" a Convit guard shouted, running around the corner. Pietor fired once. There was a loud yell and several more men ran out. Nero shot along with him until their path was free.

When they came up to the exit gate, Pietor ran up to the toll man.

"I'm transporting these prisoners to the Abvin base." he said with authority.

The man looked at the two battered prisoners. "Did Chief Gabdin approve this?" he asked suspiciously. Pietor nodded.

"Of course."

The man nodded "Then farewell, Mister Furan." he opened the gate.

"Only in hell." Pietor muttered once they were out. "Lead the way." he said to his lead man. Nero fell in step with him.

"Where are you taking us?" he asked in a way that demanded an answer. Pietor shot him a sharp look.

"Don't be so arrogant. You hold no power over me.

"My apologies." Nero replied, with a hint of contempt.

"I can't say right now." Pietor replied. They stopped in front of a large abandoned building. He spoke in his radio. "Anastasia. We're here. I have Nero and Natalya safe."

A moment's pause.

"Good." came Anastasia's voice "Bring them aboard, please."

"Will do.' Pietor opened the lodge door. "After you." He gestured at Nero , who narrowed his eyes before going in.

Inside was a massive ship/helicopter, Shroud. Nero looked at it in amazement.

"Get on and unarm yourself." Pietor growled. Nero gave him his gun without argument and walked on board.

Anastasia waited for them at the front. "Max." she nodded "Where's Natalya?"

"Right here." Pietor walked towards them, Raven hanging limply from his arms.

"To the medical bay." Anastasia turned and hurried away. Nero and Pietor followed her. Pietor laid her down on the medical bed. Anastasia grabbed two syringes. Her and Pietor injected them above her gun wounds. The skin around her injuries was red and bruised. Blood was still drying around the edges.

"When did this happen?" Anastasia asked Nero

"Yesterday." Nero looked closely at Raven's face "Now, if you don't mind, what is going on?"

Pietor made an irritated sound and Anastasia waved at him, a calming gesture.

"I have a proposition for you." she said evenly "But for now, Natalya is most important. Do you not agree?"

"Of course I do." Nero bristled "But I'd like to make sure I'm not leading her into something worse."

"You're not." Anastasia assured him. Nero looked at her, not sure whether to trust or not. She went on helping Raven. They washed away blood and put medication on her open skin. Nero watched them carefully out of the corner of his eye. Raven didn't stir as they began to wrap up her shoulder in gauze and white medical tape. Then they did the same to her leg and ankle.

"Now we just wait for her to wake up." Anastasia said "Max, over here." she backed up "Pietor will watch her."

Nero glanced at Pietor, then Raven, before going over to her.


	4. Explanation and Threats?

**Hey! Hope the characters are right! Please just let me know what you think! I think most people would agree that just reading and passing by is a chance lost to make someone's day! Thanks to all who review and read! The ones who follow the story are amazing!**

Raven moved, her eyes flicking a tiny bit. She opened them. She felt stiff and her shoulder and thigh felt secure. The ache seemed to have subsided a bit.

"You're awake." came familiar voice. Raven felt an unusual stab of alarm and terror as she looked over at Pietor Furan. He stood, looking at her and wiping his hands on a towel.

"She's awake, you two!" he called. Raven followed his gaze. Nero and Anastasia hurried over.

"Natalya." Nero helped her sit up and held her close for a second. She leaned to him.

"What's going on?" Raven asked quietly. "What are they doing here? Where are we?"

"It's okay." Nero replied so only she could hear him "Pietor essentially saved you from Gabdin. Then they brought you and me on board, and wrapped you up."

"Why?" Raven whispered.

"That is what I'm trying to find out. Anastasia said she would explain soon."

"How are you doing?" Anastasia came on her other side. Raven looked at her.

"Better now apparently thanks to you."

"Indeed. I'm pleased to hear it. When you're ready I want you two to come out. I have something to say. Thank-you." she turned and left the room. Pietor stepped forward and held up a small, blue pill.

"Take this." He ordered, setting it on the table. "It'll take away toxins out of your blood from the bullets." He followed his sister out. Raven stared after them, her face perplexed and a little worried.

"Max. Why are they…?"

Nero watched as well. "I don't know, but I'm just glad they treated your injuries."

"Whatever they did, it worked. "Raven rolled her shoulder carefully, but still winced.

"Don't overdue it." Nero warned gently "Want to try standing?"

Raven nodded and slowly swung her legs off. Nero took her hand as she touched her feet to the ground. She put a little weight, then some more. Her face was pained, but she stood up.

"Are you alright?" Nero watched her closely. Raven nodded tensely and tried to take a step. She limped badly, but stayed upright.

"I can do it." Raven said through clenched teeth. Nero handed her the blue pill and she took it.

"Do you want to go out?" he asked "Or wait?"

Raven nodded. "Now, please."

Nero gingerly guided her out, trying to help her keep weight off her leg.

Anastasia and Pietor were both talking to the pilot in a hushed conversation. Pietor spotted them and told his sister, nodding at them. Anastasia turned.

"Good." she smiled "Any better, Natalya."

"Much thank you." Raven said with a nod.

"Good. Now obviously you're wondering what's going on. Well here you have it." she looked at them "You've heard of the Russian Convit I presume."

Nero nodded and Raven felt he neck, glancing at him.

"Yes. Their sign no doubt." Anastasia said "Up until now, we have tolerated them, but they are a significant, if not annoying power hoard that wants nothing but power. Pietor and I have decided, no more. We hope to take them down, with your assistance."

Raven and Nero glanced at each other.

"You believe I'd be of any help right now?" Raven shook her head.

"You will heal quickly, my dear." Anastasia smiled.

"What could we possibly offer you?" Nero waved Raven back slightly.

"Can you think of no greater name then Nero and Furan?" she blinked coldly "We'll be invincible. You and I, well, we have the strategic and well-felt aura. Pietor and Natalya have the skills."

Nero narrowed his eyes "But why do you need us?"

"We don't." Pietor growled "she is saying it would be simpler. Although I see _you_ having little effect with it."

Nero glared at him along with Raven. Anastasia put up a finger.

"Pietor is right. We do not _need_ you. We would _like_ you to join us. Guard!" she called "Please bring them out."

The guard came in to view and stepped aside to reveal Wing, Shelby and Laura. Nero's eyes widened, than narrowed angrily.

**More reviews make want to update faster! Thank you all! :):) **


	5. Who's in Charge?

**I try to update fast. Let me know how I'm doing! Give a shout out to Pietor in your next review and let me know what you think! Raven is a tough cookie! But are the Furans really good...? Read on. By the way, not to burst anyone's bubble, but Otto probably won't be in this story. Personally I don't love him, but I might add him in later!**

"So now you're going to try and force us to ally with you?" Nero snapped his eyes furious.

Anastasia waved a hand "No no. They're all yours. Go on." She nudged the students and they ran over, seeming unfrightened.

"How are you guys here?" Nero asked quickly, so the Furans couldn't hear him.

Wing glanced behind his shoulder. "Pietor rescued us from the same people who captured you as well."

Nero stared at him, shooting a swift glance at Pietor. "What…..never mind." he shook his head. "Get behind us."

The three students did as told and Nero stood up straight.

"Problem, Max?" Anastasia asked. He shook his head.

"No, no problem, but why? Why did you save _them_ though?" he queried.

Anastasia smiled "Why not?"

"You've never had any cup of a heart for my students before." Nero growled. Pietor slowly tilted his head, almost challenging him to insult his sister again.

"Let's just say they were and easy errand. " Anastasia still smiled. Nero glanced at Raven then sighed.

"What's your plan?"

"Simple." Anastasia said "Pietor?"

Her brother stepped up "You and Anastasia will lead an attack on their main weapons and control station. Natalya and I will take care of the president and the deputies after him. Then we take charge and force all network products to stop."

"Three rather _large_, but simple steps." Nero agreed "Alright, you have our agreement." He glanced at Raven, who hesitated a second before nodding, worry in her eyes.

"We are now your allies." Nero nodded at the Furans.

Anastasia smiled "Wonderful. Now shall we discuss our conveniences and recruitment?"

Nero nodded and Raven spoke.

"We can land soon. I have a safe house we can stay at to prepare, if you like."

"Where exactly?" Anastasia asked "Come and tell the pilot, dear."

She put an arm around Raven and guided her away from Nero and the others. Raven was slow and limped beside her, glancing back at Nero with unease in her eyes. He looked back trying to encourage and give her confidence with her most feared mortal enemies. Anastasia squeezed her with her arm as they left.

Pietor jerked his head "Follow me" and turned to leave.

Nero let out an irritated breath and him and the students followed.

**Shout out to PIETOR! Sorry Otto is not in this. Please review. Should have it updated tonight or tomorrow morning**


	6. The Odd Alliance

**Shout out to Nero and Pietor! Team Nero or Team Pietor? Love them both! Let me know! Please review when you read! I know Anastasia seems awful sweet. (Sly and slippery as a snake, yes?) Are they really taking a change for the better? Find out!**

"The next left." Raven told Pietor. He drove the car to the safe house under her direction. Nero and Anastasia discussed in the back seat.

"Three hundred mega's with Colonel Fransisco." Nero said. She nodded.

"That's fine. We may not need them all in fact. Perhaps half to add to our team."

Nero glanced out the window "I suggest we contact Diablous Darkdoom. He can meet us at the safe house."

"If you wish." Anastasia sighed "But I do not see how he will be of any help."

"You do not know him." Nero replied

"Turn right down the dirt road." Raven said. Pietor turned and eventually stopped beside a house. Raven opened her door and stepped out. Pietor, Anastasia, Nero followed with the students. Raven slowly made her way to the door. She pushed the button and a keyboard slid out.

"Password please."

Raven typed in a long password, her fingers flicking over the letters quickly.

"Accepted."

The door whooshed open and lights flickered on. The group headed in the large, yet confined house.

"What time is it?" Anastasia asked, gazing around. Raven glanced at her clock.

"Almost six."

Anastasia nodded "We need to retreat and rewrap your wounds."

Raven sighed "Alright. Let's get situated first though."

They got their stuff, and settled in. Pietor went through a bag, pulling out syringes, medical tapes, and medicine.

"Natalya." he jerked his chin over. Raven glanced at Nero before limping over to him. Anastasia joined her brother after a second, helping him unwrap her thigh first. Nero went over to the computer, but kept an eye on Pietor. Anastasia put the needle in, while he dripped the medicine. Raven winced at the sting. Pietor held the gauze in place as his sister began to wrap it. They moved onto her shoulder.

"Natalya? What's your password?" Nero asked. Raven glanced over.

"Oh sorry. It's Raven-Natalya4718."

"Don't apologize." Nero said as he typed. Raven turned her head back, wincing badly. Anastasia's eyes were focused and Pietor's eyes were narrowed.

"Sorry. "Anastasia said, squinting. "This one's deep."

"And in a bad spot." Pietor growled, injecting the syringe, then putting the medicine as well. Together they eased the bandage around it.

"Thanks." Raven rotated her shoulder. Anastasia patted her. Pietor didn't reply. Nero stood up

"I'll call Diablous."

Anastasia nodded "Pietor we need to contact the base. Tell them what's happened."

"I radioed them on the airlift." Pietor told her "You can update them further if you like."

Anastasia nodded again. Nero talked to Darkdoom on the phone.

"Natalya." he called "He needs the location targets."

Raven stood up carefully and went over. Nero handed her the phone.

"Hello, Diablous."

Nero went over to the Furans. "Is it looking any better?" he asked quietly. Anastasia replied

"Not since this morning. But neither of the wounds penetrated any bone or muscle, so she's lucky. Her leg isn't bad, but her shoulder is deep."

"And in a hard spot for us to get too." Pietor added "But it shouldn't take her more then tonight to fill in and unstiffen. She should be able to walk on her leg by tomorrow."

Nero nodded "Good. Thank-you."

"Not a problem." Anastasia replied.

"Okay. Bye." Raven ended the call. She gave the phone back to Nero. "He's not too far away actually. Probably tonight."

"Wonderful." Nero gave her a nod.

"I'll show you guys." Raven gestured at the stairs.

"I'd rather you not." Nero said "Sit down and take it easy.

"I don't want to take it easy." Raven growled.

"I don't really care what you want." Nero smiled softly, pushing her down. Raven scowled.

"I don't want to sit here and do nothing."

"Well you need too." Pietor retorted "Whether you like it or not, you're hurt. Just do what he says and stay there. I'm going to need you in full strength if we're going to do this now."

Raven folded her arms and looked away in frustration.

"Yea come on, psychopathic ninja assassin." Shelby messed up her hair. "The faster you heal the faster you'll heal."

Raven smoothed her hair "Psychopathic?"

"Yeah." Shelby smiled. "It's true isn't it?

Raven jerked at her and Shelby squealed, jumping away. Nero put his hands on her shoulders and patted them, letting out a deep breath.

"Please can I do something?" Raven moaned. Nero clapped his hands and snapped his fingers.

"Oh yea sure." he walked over and selected a book from the shelf. "Here, reads this." he set it on her lap.

"No!" Raven kicked her leg. "Something active."

"It's a very moving story."

Raven groaned and covered her face with a pillow. Anastasia had opened a bottle of wine in the kitchen and poured drinks for everyone.

"Here you are." She gave them to Nero and Pietor, then she went over to Raven.

"Here you are, my dear."

"Oh sorry, no thank you. I don't drink anything, but water."

"Oh?" Anastasia asked "That's a shame."

"That's what I said." Nero put in.

Anastasia smiled and replaced her wine with water. She gave water to the students as well.

"You know what sucks?" Shelby said " That we can't legally drink that stuff yet."


	7. Conflict

**Here comes the conflict! Watch out! Review on every chapter please!**

Raven lay on the couch, reading, while Nero and Anastasia looked at their plans and strategy. Pietor also read a book, a few feet away. There was a loud knock on the door. Nero glanced up and went over.

"What's the password?" he called.

"Let me in!" came Darkdoom's voice.

"That's wrong, but I'll let you in anyway." Nero smiled, opening the door. "Hello, Diablous."

"Max." they greeted each other warmly.

"So where's Natalya?" Darkdoom's eyes widened slightly at the Furans.

"Right here." Raven waved a hand over the couch.

"Uhhhh…you didn't." Darkdoom stared.

"Hello, Diablous." Anastasia smiled. Nero quickly explained to him and afterwards Darkdoom looked a little belligerent.

"Well I don't blame you about the Convit, but…." he shook his head "What do you have in mind?"

Nero and Anastasia began to explain and the three of them talked over their plans for the next two and a half hours. It was getting late and Raven finally sat up.

"Well not that this isn't fun and all, but I'm going to bed. Rather tired. See you all in the morning."

They all nodded.

"Goodnight, Natalya." Nero smiled, then he turned to the others "What time should we get up to leave for H.I.V.E. tomorrow?"

"We can't get up before nineish." Anastasia said with a glance at Pietor "Raven will sleep until then."

"What do you mean?" Nero asked looking at her in confusion "Why?"

"We gave her a sleeping pill for the night." Anastasia explained

Nero scowled "Without her knowledge?"

"She wouldn't have taken it anyway." Anastasia replied.

Nero stared at her, suddenly very angry. "When?"

"It was in the water. Pietor dropped it in." Anastasia said coolly. Nero narrowed his eyes.

"Don't do that without letting me or Natalya know, _ever._"

"It's a mild sedative and had we told you, Natalya would have noticed." Anastasia growled.

"How did she _not_ notice it in her water?"

"It was completely clear and tasteless." Anastasia replied.

Nero shook his head "Don't do that."

"Why not?" Anastasia glanced at Pietor, then Nero angrily. "She needs the rest and recoverment."

"Because it could have been _anything_ you put in her drink."

"Are we out to hurt her? No." the Furans glared at him. Nero narrowed his eyes.

"Now she's drugged and defenseless if anything should happen tonight."

"She'll be fine. Pietor and I had already planned to keep an extra look on her." Anastasia growled.

Nero pressed his lips together angrily, but spoke calmly.

"I don't appreciate the secrecy."

"Sorry then." Anastasia said evenly "We would have informed you, if we'd the chance."

Nero nodded curtly and turned to the students. "You three, it's high time you were in bed."

Shelby groaned while Wing and Laura stood up obediently.

"Follow Raven please." Nero said. "Now." he asked the Furans "How long will it affect her?"

Anastasia glanced at Pietor, who spoke.

"Until about nine tomorrow morning." he said "It's harmless. A sedative and a muscle relaxant, that way no contractions will rapture her wound."

"I'm sure Max is just a little precautious, because of her past…" Darkdoom spoke carefully.

"It's her past with _us_ that made her strong and who she is," Pietor growled "If you hadn't shot and taken her we wouldn't be having this problem."

Nero narrowed his eyes and lifted his chin, as Anastasia put a calming hand on her brother's leg.

"Let's not argue." She said steadily "She's fine, Max. Let's put it behind us."

"I'm sure you taught her brilliant skills, Pietor." Nero said through clenched teeth "But you as one destroyed her and her perspective on life."

Pietor glared at him "Natalya is now-."

"Pietor!" Anastasia warned him fiercely and he backed off.

"All this conversation is doing is stirring up trouble." she said.

"I don't like your immediate assumption of control over her." Nero growled.

"Yours either, Max" Anastasia said coolly "Stop arguing. Pietor, come on." she titled her head.

Together they both stood up and left the room. Nero stared after them, agitated. Darkdoom shook his head.

"Your alliance is not going to be easy, you knew that."

Nero sighed.

**Good or bad? Let me know what you think of them!**


	8. Untrustworthy or just paranoid?

**Russians are just polite people I think, so even though the Furans are "evil" they are always polite! :) Thanks to everyone who reviews! **

"Good morning." Anastasia said as she came down the stairs the next morning. Nero nodded at her and Darkdoom replied

"Isn't it only."

"Pietor's checking on Natalya." she informed them. Nero looked at her.

"How did she do last night?"

"Fine. Just fine." Anastasia replied. Wing, Shelby and Laura were sitting in the living room, watching a show on the T.V. Shelby was explaining it to both of them.

"Good." Nero nodded "She's still asleep?"

"I believe so. She should be awake soon though."

Pietor walked down the stairs, his face hard and unreadable.

"Asleep?" Anastasia asked. Pietor nodded "She's doing well."

Nero cleared his throat, looking at him. "I'd like to apologize for last night."

Pietor stared at him for a second then gave a nod "Likewise."

Darkdoom looked slightly surprised, while Anastasia looked slightly relieved their dilemma was over. About a half hour later, Anastasia suggested someone check on Raven again. Pietor did so and an up the stairs. Nero glanced at the clock. Nine fifteen.

"She should be waking up, sometime soon." Anastasia said.

It was about ten minutes later when Pietor came down with Raven behind him.

"Oh good!" Anastasia walked over. Raven walked with a tiny limp, but her face was clear. The Furans sat her down and began her procedure.

"Did H.I.V.E. confirm?" Raven asked Nero quietly. He nodded "Yes, they're ready."

"Oh wow." Anastasia was inspecting her leg injury. "It's healing over already. Not completely, but started."

"It feels better." Raven replied

"We won't wrap it up today, just a simple bandage." They did so, than checked her shoulder. It still needed medicine and a wrap.

"Alright. I'll get ready." Raven stood up and left the room. The students came over. Anastasia looked at Wing.

"You're Wing, correct?"

He nodded slowly.

"Raven's apprentice?"

Wing glanced at Nero, and nodded again.

"How old are you?" Pietor asked

"I'm seventeen." Wing replied. Anastasia smiled

"Quiet for someone so young."

Shelby bumped him "He's always like that."

Something beeped and Nero reached into his coat, pulling out a device. He stood up and took the call, walking outside.

Anastasia watched until the door was closed, then turned to Wing "How about a bit of training?" she asked "You and Pietor."

Darkdoom stood up. "I don't think that's a-"

"Raven will come." Anastasia cut him off "Don't worry. He can show us what she's taught him." she smiled at Wing.

"If it's alright with Dr. Nero." he replied calmly.

"If Raven comes, he'll be fine." Anastasia said. Wind didn't reply and looked away. Raven came out, clad mostly in all black.

"Natalya, my dear." Anastasia put an arm around her. "We were going to the training arena."

"What for?" Raven asked quietly.

"To test out Wing's skills and to try your strength." She still wore a smile. Raven hesitated a second.

"Where's Max?

"Taking a call." Darkdoom glanced at the door.

Raven looked at Anastasia, who winked. She sighed.

"Alright, we can go." She looked at Darkdoom "Tell Max where we are."

Darkdoom watched her carefully "I will."

Anastasia's face beamed. Raven walked beside Wing and the Furans followed.

"Go with them." Darkdoom muttered to Shelby and Laura "Just in case. I trust Raven, but she can only do so much right now."

Shelby and Laura hurried after them.

**WHOA! Is this just Anastasia's way of trying to be nice or is she being slyly overwhelming on purpose to get Raven to listen to her and trust them? HehehehHAHAHA. Please review and let me know anything you like or dislike particularly!**


	9. Go Nero

**Anyone else feel nerve racked? Let me know in your reviews!**

Nero walked back into the house and immediately noticed Darkdoom was alone.

"Where are they?" he demanded.

"They all went to the training area. Anastasia wanted to test Raven and look at Wing's skills." Darkdoom looked worried. Nero's eyes darkened in concern.

"With Pietor? Oh my word. Wing? Raven can match him in fight when she's in full strength, but Wing is half-trained."

Darkdoom nodded "I think it's safe. I don't think Pietor will hurt him, just push his limits a bit, like Raven."

Nero let out a deep breath "He's harsher than her."

Darkdoom shook his head "Yes, but Raven's there with them."

"And injured." Nero rubbed his eyes "I hope she's alright."

"We should go join them." Darkdoom urged and Nero nodded.


	10. Training and matched

**Hey H.I.V.E. buds! Read and love the story! Review it! I literally just sit next to my computer waiting for an email to tell me I have a review!**

Pietor jumped down into the pit and Wing followed him. Raven sat near Anastasia and they gazed down. Raven looked a bit anxious while the older woman looked eager to watch. Laura and Shelby joined them after a second.

Pietor secured his wrist bands and held up his fists. Wing did the same.

"Your take." Pietor offered him. Raven let out a breath of relief that he wasn't being as harsh with Wing.

Wing advanced. They matched each other, blow for blow as Pietor sized him up. He slowly put on speed and as Wing took him up for it, Pietor kicked him off.

"You're holding back." he growled "Hit hard. Don't suppress it."

"We're training." Wing replied, his eyes narrowed.

"I don't give a damn." Pietor replied, shaking out a wrist. "Hit. Hit hard. Now!"

Wing attacked in a blur, hitting harder and faster than he had before. Pietor blocked and hit faster due to experience and just plain skill. He held back to his training limits, because he wasn't here to kill the boy. He knocked Wing flat to the floor after a second, knocking the wind from him, then glanced up at Anastasia. She waited for him to get back up, before nodding at him.

Nero and Darkdoom walked in at a fast pace. Nero looked down in the pit anxiously as he walked over to Raven.

"You're alright?" he asked, gesturing at her shoulder, but not only meaning that. She nodded.

Pietor stopped Wing. "Hit!" he snapped "You'll never win a battle like this, boy! Hit me _hard!_"

Nero narrowed his eyes thoughtfully, but with unease. Wing fought him well, but Pietor finally knocked him down again.

"Harder and faster." he said, but with less menace. Wing nodded and Pietor motioned for him out of the pit.

"Natalya!" he called. Raven twisted her neck and stood up. When she passed Wing, she murmured so only he could hear her.

"You did good, okay? Don't listen to Pietor."

Wing smiled slightly and gave a nod. Raven jumped down next to Pietor.

"I'm only testing your wellness right now." he growled.

"And I'm testing yours?" Raven asked with a faint smile. Pietor's eyes narrowed slightly. They circled each other and he flicked his wrist aggressively. Raven advanced slowly. He aimed several blows to her torso, which she blocked and then side stepped to avoid his elbow.

"Faster." Pietor growled. Raven put several blows at his neck and he deflected them.

"Out of practice?" he sneered. Raven flipped around, her foot kicking his thigh. He grunted and kicked her off. They faced each other, both ready for more. They matched blow for blow, although Raven's shoulder injury slowed her down a bit. They fought, unflawlessly, for the next ten minutes, neither faultering once. Pietor finally landed a better hit and Raven gasped as her shoulder jerked. He backed off, watching her carefully

"I'm fine." Raven recovered quickly, but there was a gleam of pain in her eyes.

"No, we're done." Pietor dropped his fists "Get out."

Raven leaped up and out of the arena with Pietor right behind her. She walked over to them almost without limp. Nero nodded to her as she went and stood next to him.

"Are we ready to leave for H.I.V.E.?" Anastasia asked.

"Yes." Nero nodded.

"Good. Let's get going then," the Furans began to walk to the safe house again.

**I know these are short, but I like to keep it in waiting. Please Review.**


	11. The Friendly Rivalry

**Review please!**

Nero, Darkdoom, and the Furans were seated in the living room, waiting for the students and Raven to come down so they could leave.

"I swear."Darkdoom grumbled "If they're not down here in five seconds, we just need to leave."

Nero chuckled "Well someone up there plays a crucial part in our action plan."

Laura and Wing came down the stairs.

"Where's Raven and Shelby?" Nero asked.

"They're coming." Laura replied. "Shelby and Raven got into an argument."

"About what?" Nero said rolling his eyes.

"Yea. Raven's only about eighteen years older than her." Darkdoom said irritably. Laura opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted by a shriek.

Everyone's eyes shot to the stairs. Shelby dashed down them with Raven right on her tail.

"Dr. Nero!" Shelby screamed, running behind him.

"Whoa!" Nero held Raven back with two hands on her shoulders. "Natalya!"

"Give them!" Raven shouted at Shelby.

"No!" Shelby yelled back. Raven pushed against Nero.

"Whoa! Natalya! What is wrong?" Nero exclaimed.

"Give them to me!" Raven yelled at Shelby.

"Give WHAT?" Nero snapped.

"My katanas!" Raven pointed a finger "She's got them!"

Nero turned and glanced at Shelby. Sure enough, she was holding the black leather containing Raven's katanas. "Miss Trinity, why do you have her-"

"Make her take back the insult!" Shelby held the katanas in the air.

Raven leaned over Nero's restraining arm "You insulted me _first_!"

Darkdoom leaned over and said something quietly to the Furans, smiling. Anastasia smiled, putting a hand over her mouth while Pietor simply nodded.

"Oh I so did not!" Shelby yelled "It was true!"

Raven stared at her, mouth gaping. "You're insane! I am going to _maim_ you!"

"Alright." Nero hushed her sharply "What happened?"

Raven and Shelby both started explaining at the same time.

"Well I was…then I took-"

"She came and…called me a-"

"Then I saw…fists were-"

"I came too…ran down and-"

Nero waved his hands "ShhhHHHH! Natalya. What happened?"

"See hahaHA! I get to explain!" Raven stuck her tongue out at Shelby, who folded her arms. Nero closed his eyes for a second.

"Well…..that was just rude. So Miss Trinity, go ahead please." he looked at her. Raven gaped at him indignantly and Shelby looked triumphant.

"So I was upstairs and Raven was grabbing her stuff, so I started talking to her. Then she called me a-"

"HEY! You little liar!" Raven shouted. Nero shot her a shut-up look.

"No I am not going to listen to her lie! I was peacefully grabbing my stuff when she came in 'So crazy Russian lady, almost ready?' I, being nice and incredible-"Raven put a hand to her chest "-ignored her. Then she jumped on my bed and said 'Hurry up, ya little Redneck woman!'"

Nero slowly turned his head to look at Shelby like she had just grown a second head, his mouth hanging a bit as Raven went on "Then she-"

"Okay! My turn!" Shelby broke in "Then Raven called me a white trash American!"

Anastasia and Darkdoom barely stopped themselves from bursting out with laughter, while Pietor just looked at his sister. Nero put a hand over his eyes and the ones around him were surprised to see his shoulders began to shake. Shelby stared at him like a lunatic.

"Are…..are you serious, Natalya?" he asked looking up at her, his eyes dancing with laughter.

"Yeeeesss!" Raven said, sounding like she was barely restraining from killing them all. "Then the little thief stole my katanas and ran!"

"And I still have them!" Shelby waved them mockingly in front of her. Raven tried to jump at her, but Nero stopped her.

"Natalya, wait-"

Shelby ran away from him and into the kitchen. Raven sprinted after, the adrenaline driving away all her leg wound stiffness. Shelby squealed as her escape route was cut off.

"Ha-ha! Now hand them over!" Raven advanced on the student. Shelby turned, leapt and slid over the table, and bolted back up the stairs.

"Shelby!" Raven yelled, already gaining on her "You're going to kill yourself and I'll get blamed for it!"

A second later there was a screech and a loud bang on the floor above them.

Silence.

They waited and Darkdoom shrugged "She will be missed."

Nero scowled, but shot him an amused look.

Raven walked down the stairs, her katanas strapped to her back. She smiled, went into the kitchen, and opened the fridge.

"Natalya?" Nero's eyes followed her "What…did you do?"

She looked at him, pursed her lips, and gave a slight shake of her head. Nero rolled his eyes.

"Natalya." he repeated.

"She's dead." Raven said, nodding at him, sadly. Nero was about to say something else when a groan came from the stairs. He turned and looked.

Shelby came limping across the floor, a hand on her back as she went forward painfully. Darkdoom let out a trill of soft laughter.

"What did she do?" Laura asked. Shelby coughed and looked at her.

"What? Sorry. The light heading toward me is to bright." she said with forced faintness.

Raven grunted and the group laughed.


	12. Ready to go to HIVE

**Let me know what you think! I think that Pietor and Anastasia have a really good relationship that no one would have expected. By the way, I have it like Anastasia is the oldest sibling and Elena is the youngest.**

Pietor drove the car down the town road, as they rode back to the Furan's airlift, so they could fly to H.I.V.E. Anastasia sat next to him in the passenger's seat, while Nero, Darkdoom, and Raven sat behind them, then the three students behind them.

"Shelby?" Raven leaned her head back against the seat "I'm sorry for smashing you against the floor."

There was a grunt "Yea, thanks a lot, that _hurt_."

"You had her katanas." came Laura's voice "You know how she is with those things."

"What?" Raven said sharply, turning to look at them.

"Never mind." came a nervous voice and some giggling laughter. Nero smiled as Raven growled, turning to face front.

Pietor stepped hard on the brakes as a little boy ran across the street. The people in the car jerked forward and there was a yelp as Shelby fell out of her seat.

"That's why seatbelts are important." Nero commented.

"Yea, yea. I'm buckling."

The little boy's mother hurried over and picked up her little boy, waving apologetically. Anastasia waved back to let her know it was alright.

"Pietor. Wave at her." she said half annoyed, half amused. Pietor looked at her sideways and shook his head.

"No."

"Don't be a jerk." Anastasia replied, smiling at him "It was an accident."

"I know!" Pietor said, motioning with his hands "I don't care! I'm not going to wave at her."

Anastasia rolled her eyes and let out a deep breath. Pietor gave her a sideways half- glare. She looked at the people behind her and mouthed "Will you take a look at this guy?"

Pietor shoved her head off and his sister grunted, pulling back.

"Pietor! My hair!" she cried. Her brother glanced over.

"It's alright. It looks a little better."

Anastasia punched his arm, and he glanced down at the spot where she hit, then looked at her, eyebrows raised. She pulled down the sun block in front of her and started to fix herself in the mirror.

"What if I like….whaboosh." Pietor pretended to wipe a hand down the side of her make-upped face. Anastasia slapped it.

"Then I would murder you." she replied.

He shook his head "Harsh."

They continued driving down the road. Anastasia leaned out the window, glancing back at something. Pietor tugged her back in.

"Don't do that." he said.

"Why not?" Anastasia sounded a bit irritated.

"Because I said so."

"You can't tell me what to do!" she smiled "Peter Pan!

"Excuse me?" Pietor looked at her.

"Peter Pan!" Anastasia repeated, still grinning.

"That's not fair. I don't have a comeback for that." Pietor growled.

"I know. That's why it's brilliant, Peter Pan!"

"Anastasia….I'm gonna…." Pietor reached over and lightly slapped her cheek, although he kept his eyes on the road.

"Pietor!" Anastasia exclaimed.

"Yes, sister?" he glanced at her skeptically.

"I am older than you, therefore more sagacious and competent."

"Well…..you're older." Pietor's mouth actually curved a tiny bit.

"Shut up." Anastasia shoved him.

"Hey! You're going to make me crash this car." Pietor growled.

"I don't think you're supposed to call women _old_." Darkdoom put in helpfully.

Pietor didn't crack a smile as he looked in the rearview mirror "Do you have a sister, Diablous?"

"Well…..no."

"Then don't talk."

Nero and Darkdoom glanced at each other in amusement.

"Not to say…." Pietor waved at his sister "Like no offense."

Anastasia scoffed, then smiled and didn't reply. Pietor pulled into the warehouse and they all stepped out of the car, gazing at the big aircraft.


	13. The Flight

**Sorry if I get this wrong. I have just always imagined Raven kind of short and I hope you like it. Just picture her somewhat short. Especially compared to Pietor, Nero, and Anastasia. Please review! Oh and my new profile picture is how I imagine Pietor and Anastasia. (Somewhat, not perfect.)**

"You can tell the pilot or just take us there." Anastasia said to Nero "I understand if you don't want to get too specific."

It was about four hours later and the airlift was finally getting ready to approach H.I.V.E.

Nero nodded "I'll tell the pilot myself."

"When we get there, I suggest we have a meeting with the Colonel and whoever else you want involved, to give them the base line of the plan." Anastasia suggested.

Nero nodded "I will."

"Natalya?" Anastasia turned "How is your shoulder feeling?"

Raven glanced at her "Better than this morning. Feels fine right now."

Anastasia nodded "Good." then she lowered her voice speaking only to Nero and Darkdoom "When we get there, she should see an actual medic, to make sure there are no infections."

Nero nodded "I planned on it. From this morning, how did her shoulder look?"

"Fairly well and obviously she's not in too much pain, but I'm worried she's just putting on a stoic act and not telling us how much it actually hurts." Anastasia said "It will do no good to have her fake and then heal badly."

"I'll have the doctor double check that." Nero replied "A valid point, I might add."

The ship began to noticeably descend.

"Oh good we're actually getting close, now." Shelby groaned, leaning against the wall. "I am so bored with being in the air."

"I think we all are." Laura replied.

Raven and Pietor talked together, discussing tactics on their approach to the Convit main base.

"You guys ever notice how short Raven is compared to Pietor?" Shelby asked, gazing at them, her head tilted sideways. Wing and Laura looked over and smiled. Pietor truly was a head and a half taller than her.

"Wait, Wing." Shelby said, as if something had just dawned on her. "Are you taller than Raven?"

Wing frowned and shrugged. "Why?"

"Dude, do you know how funny that would be? She can kick your butt, but you're taller than her." Shelby smiled "Blackmail and humiliation do I smell."

"You'd be dead within ten seconds." Laura scoffed "I should think you would have learned that by now."

"Not with Dr. Nero right there." Shelby said mischievously.

"It would not be wise." Wing cautioned.

"Yeah, why do you like to torture her so much?" Laura added.

"I don't!" Shelby defended herself.

"Trying to provoke her while Dr. Nero is right there, so she gets in trouble or she can't do anything. It's so mean." Laura said.

"You guys are looking way too far into it. I forgot I was with the serious folks. Raven and I are best buds." Shelby replied "Don'tcha know?"

"Not really." Laura grunted "I think you just annoy her."

"She loves me." Shelby ignored her.

Nero and Anastasia went into the pilot room together as they began the descent to H.I.V.E.

**I know it's short! Sorry about that! I want to update soon. The Furans going to H.I.V.E.? Is that safe? Let me know how much you trust them in your next review!**


	14. Arrival

**Arrival at H.I.V.E. Fun, fun, fun! Please review!**

There was a slight bump as they landed and the hatch at the end of the ramp opened. They unboarded, walking down the steps and through the door. The Colonel waited for them on the otherside.

"Dr. Nero, Raven." he nodded "Welcome home."

They nodded at him as they passed. Darkdoom saluted him.

"Diablous." he greeted him, then his eyes widened at the Furans. Anastasia simply smiled, while Pietor didn't even look at him as they walked by. Wing, Shelby, and Laura followed.

"Natalya. I want you to go to the medical bay, now." Nero glanced at her and nodded her off. Raven scowled, her face annoyed slightly.

"But, Max-"

"No buts. I'll be there to check in a minute, so go." he waved her on. Raven growled, but went obediently towards the bay.

"Diablous, will you take them to my office? I'll go get Tabitha and Theodore."

"Easily done." Darkdoom smiled.

Nero smiled and slightly rolled his eyes. As they separated, the Colonel went with Nero.

"Max, what are they doing here? Have you gone insane?" he growled, trotting alongside him.

"Are you suggesting it, Colonel?" Nero gave him a sideways look.

"The Furans are Raven's mortal enemies. You don't get along with them particularly well either."

"Natalya agreed to it and as of two days ago-" he looked the Colonel in the eye "-we owe Pietor a debt.

"Pietor?" the Colonel asked in disbelief.

"He saved Raven, myself, and those three students. Particularly Raven."

"To gain your trust?" the Colonel asked pointedly.

"They need our help to get rid of the Convit. They really want Raven with them on this." Nero replied "The Convit will soon become our problem and I'd rather nip it in the bud with them."

"I don't trust them. At all, Max."

"We will keep a sharp eye out, but I feel inclined to trust them. I am confident they only mean to destroy the Convit."Nero assured him "We'll discuss it later."

The Colonel nodded reluctantly.

Nero and Raven walked into his office, returning from the medical room.

"What did he say?" Anastasia asked.

"He said both of them are doing very well. He expects them to heal quickly." Nero replied, nodding. The two of them sat down at the table with the staff. Nero turned to his staff.

"Now some of you are wondering where Raven and I have been for the last few weeks." he began "Well….the Russian Convit captured us to hold for ransom."

"What for?" Ms. Leon asked.

"The Convit wants to bargain them for the power of G.L.O.V.E." Pietor informed them. Nero nodded.

"To make the story brief, the Furans got us out of that mess and asked for our assistance in eliminating the Convit. We agreed and here we are."

Anastasia smiled around the table at them.

"Understood." the Colonel said "With all due respect, though you too, what is _your_ problem with the Convit?"

"The Convit is becoming an ongoing power hoard." Anastasia explained. "They are gaining new allies every day and soon hope to conquer Russia and all those who strongly oppose them, like G.L.O.V.E. They want to destroy Russia's internal leaders outside the Convit, leaving us weak so they may take power. Their rule is unpleasant and not to say they have tried remorselessly to get me to join. Pietor works alongside them to gain access to power sources and he has things that will be of value later on for our plans."

"They don't know what you're planning though?" the Colonel asked Pietor.

No, of course not." Pietor replied, his eyes slightly narrowing. The Colonel nodded and Nero glanced at him.

"You're men have been briefed?"

The Colonel nodded "Yes they have. We might need a few days to prepare though."

"Fine." Nero agreed. "Natalya, would you show Pietor and Anastasia the way, please?"

Raven nodded and the Furans followed her out the door. The staff watched until the door slid shut before looking at Nero

"I must say." The Professor said "It is a bit unsettling."

"But they seem trustworthy." Ms. Leon commented.

"Pietor's so…." The Colonel looked irritated "Max, what does Raven think of this?"

"She agreed to it." Nero said, calmly.

"But is she comfortable?" the Professor asked.

"That will be of my concern." Nero replied.

"But what if they….." the Colonel trailed off.

"Threaten her? I doubt that will happen very much. They need us and they know I wouldn't stand for it." Nero said firmly.

"Unless you don't know." Ms. Leon pointed out "But I do agree with you."

"Natalya would let us know." Darkdoom added.

"Maybe." the Colonel grunted.

Nero looked at him sharply "You three have classes to teach. You'd better get back."

The three of them nodded and left his office without another word. Nero shook off the lingering sense of unease. _Was Natalya okay? Was he being reckless?_

"I'd assume you want to see Nigel." he smiled. Darkdoom smiled back.

"You know me, Max." They stood up and walked out of the room together. Kids rushed from room to room, grabbing books and having last minute conversations with one another before hurrying on to their next class. Darkdoom's eyes flicked around, following the hundreds of children running around.

"Oh boy, Max." he said "How do you survive this every day?"

"Practice." Nero replied, with a wry smile. He clicked his ear piece, and it beeped to let him know HIVEmind was listening. "HIVEmind, please have Student Darkdoom come to my office. I'll excuse him from class."

There was a moment's pause, before a reply. "Affirmed, Dr. Nero. How else can I be of service?"

"That will be all, thank you, HIVEmind." Nero lowered his hand. "This probably freaked Nigel out a bit. No one loves to have a call from the headmaster."

Darkdoom chuckled "Because you're such a monster, Max."

Nero bared his teeth sarcastically, then faded into a smile. Most of the students had receded into the classrooms and a few second later a rather nervous looking Nigel came around the corner. He saw his dad and his face brightened. He ran down the hall and into his dad's opened arms.

"Dad!" he exclaimed. Darkdoom hugged his son.

"It's good to see you," he replied, smiling down at his son.

"You too." Nigel said happily "I thought you might be here when Laura, Shelby, and Wing came back, but I wasn't sure."

"So how have you been doing?" his father asked "_What _have you been doing is more like it."

"Uhhhh….lots." Nigel said with a small, happy shrug. There was some laughter from down the hall and they glanced over. Wing, Shelby, and Laura all walked across the hall, without a care in the world on the two girls faces. Wing looked serious, as usual, his face only betraying a slight amusment. Nero scowled and leaned his head down, walking toward them.

"Long time no see!" Shelby said as he headed over. Nero's scowl deepened.

"What are you _three_ doing out of class?" he asked sternly. Wing raised his hand slightly.

"I have training with Raven, sir. We were heading down there now."

"_We_?" Nero asked pointedly.

"Ms. Leon excuses us once a month to go and watch." Shelby explained, while Laura looked slightly more ashamed.

"Excuses you?" Nero echoed. They both nodded earnestly. He rolled his eyes irritably.

"How long has this been going on?"

"Awhile. I assumed you knew." Laura said "Ms. Leon told us it was perfectly fine."

Nero rolled his eyes again.

"You two can go this time, but from now on I expect you to attend _all_ your classes like every other student."

Shelby groaned in her throat, but didn't argue. Her eyes brightened at something behind him.

"There she is!" she called.

Raven walked down the hall and did a little sway with her hands and hips as they noticed her. Nero looked at her as she came up.

"What?" she asked eyes flicking, then they landed on Shelby "What did you do?"

Shelby opened her mouth indignantly, but Nero spoke.

"Miss Trinity and Miss Brand just informed me that they have been continually been skipping class to come and watch your sessions."

"Yes, I thought you knew." Raven said slowly "Tabitha said so."

Nero let out a breathy laugh, shaking his head slightly. "It appears I need to have a _talk_ with _Ms. Leon_."

"Okay?" Raven said, clearly still not following it. Nero shook his head.

"Never mind, go have fun." he said, waving them on "But be gentle. Remember the doctor said-"

"No hard fighting, and no big workouts." Raven quoted "Yeah, I remember."

Nero smiled as they all walked into the training arena and he went back over to Darkdoom and his son.

"Wow, my teaching staff." he commented.

**Hey just to let you all know and I know it wasn't super stressed, but Pietor is a big part of the Convit and he's high up in it. Thanks! Please review!**


	15. Invitation

**Hey! Hey! So some people said they were confused and I think it is probably about the Convit thing. The Convit is an organization like G.L.O.V.E. except all about Russia and no villainy. It has a president and deputies that run it. It used to be a good, healthy thing that brought strength to Russia by lending power to the military, but their old leader died to be replaced by an ambitious man who wants to be in complete power. He is trying to get as much support from Russians as he can and thus far the Furans are involved (well Pietor is.) The leader plans to strike down Russia's real leaders and take over Russia, then G.L.O.V.E. and all the significant power hoards in the world essentially. The Furans don't like how it is taking over Russia (many Russians don't) and they want to destroy it. Nero and Raven are strong assets to have therefore, the Furans asked for their assistance in destroying it. Hope this clears up confusion. Thanks for reading! More to come. Please review!**

It was about two or so hours later. Nero had invited the staff, Darkdoom, and the Furans to dinner for the evening so they could discuss their plans in detail. Darkdoom and him both stood, gazing at the computer screen in front of them as they waited. The room was awfully quiet until Anastasia walked in with Pietor right behind her.

"Good evening, Max." she said with a smile. Nero nodded politely as they came over. Ms. Leon was already seated, sitting on her red velvet pillow to reach the table.

"If you don't mind me asking." Anastasia said, after she was seated and comfortable. "How did you end up as a cat?"

Ms. Leon stretched "It's a very long story, so I'll give you the brief. One of the Professors experiments went terribly wrong, if you can see."

Anastasia nodded "Evidently."

"Until he can figure it out, I'm stuck like this." Ms. Leon growled.

"Now, Tabitha." Nero said coolly.

The Colonel and the Professor walked in at that precise moment.

"Hello, gentlemen." Nero greeted them. They both nodded at him.

"Then I guess we can begin." Nero said, taking his own seat.

Anastasia glanced around "Wait, where's Natalya?"

Nero looked at her "She doesn't usually come to these things."

"Why not?" Anastasia leaned forward "She's invited, yes?"

"Yes." Nero responded "But not each time specifically. She always welcome, but I doubt she'll ever come. It's not like her."

"Well." Anastasia stood up, tossing her napkin on the chair "I will get her. She'll come for me."

Nero couldn't think of an excuse right then "Uhhh….."

"Anastasia…." Pietor started after her.

"Hush Peter Pan." She smiled "Stay here, I'll be right back."

"You don't need-"

"I'll be back." Anastasia repeated, patting his shoulder sarcastically. Pietor laid his head down on his hands.

"Sisters?" Darkdoom smiled.

Pietor lifted his head, rubbing his chin. "You said it."


	16. Meeting and Student Intervention

**Wow I know it took me a long time to write this chapter. Mostly because I don't have it hand written down so it's hard to think about it and school is very busy. Sorry! I will try and be faster! Please review!**

The door swung open and Anastasia walked in with a broad smile on her face. Raven was right behind her, looking confused and skeptical. She mouthed something at Nero and he shrugged, still trying to read her expression.

"There." Anastasia sat Raven down "Perfect."

"Uhh…..why?" Raven asked, still looking at her.

"Oh shush." Anastasia waved her hand.

Raven looked unsatisfied with the reason she was going to sit and discuss who knows what with the staff and looked around with a half scowl.

"Aaanyway." Nero said, with a small smile on his face "I asked you here…."

###

"No no no." Anastasia argued 'We can't take more defense."

"We have too." Nero said in exasperation.

"No, that is going to harm us in the end. Why can't you see that?" she growled.

"If we go in without enough men, we are not even going to make it past the gate." Nero replied irritably.

They had finished dinner and Nero and Anastasia had gotten into a rather heated conversation.

"We'll waste all our men in the first run and have no others to go on with us." Anastasia replied hotly.

"But…if we take enough men to defend the others, then they'll all make it out together." Nero retorted.

"No, Max." Anastasia said, planting a foot down on the subject "We can't have more defense."

Nero looked at her in frustration. "We _have__-_"

"I know what I'm doing." Anastasia interrupted.

"Anastasia." Pietor said lowly.

"What!" she snapped at him.

"Stop it." he growled.

"Stop what?" Anastasia exclaimed. He rolled his eyes slightly.

"Look. I know you already had this all planned out in your mind before we even got here and that's good, but you need to stop voicing your opinions so adamantly." Pietor said.

"I _don't._" Anastasia replied.

"Okay." Pietor responded.

"I _don't!_" Anastasia exclaimed indignantly. Pietor just shrugged.

"You know what? Just…just back off. Go…go away." she shoved Pietor off irritably and he rolled his eyes good-naturedly to the rest of the audience. "I'm just trying to…..Dah!" Anastasia looked at Nero. "If we take to many men, we're going to be caught."

"Not necessarily." Nero replied.

Raven and Darkdoom had long since blocked out the conversation and were typing on their phones. The Colonel, Pietor, and the Professor all listened to them still and Ms. Leon just lay and relaxed on her pillow until the two of them ended it and went to neutral corners.

They looked over as Nero's console on his desk beeped twice and HIVE mind appeared.

"Dr. Nero, sorry to interrupt, but Student Brand and Student Trinity are requesting to see you."

Nero scowled slightly as there was a furiously knocking on the door.

"Thank you, HIVE mind." he said and the blue face disappeared. He walked over to his door and opened it to talk to the two girls.

"Dr. Nero!" Laura was all out of breath, while Shelby appeared just fine. "Where is the Professor?"

"Excuse me?" Nero replied irritably.

"Oh sorry." Laura finally caught her breath and began to explain "I found something that I need to show to the Professor. It's for HIVE mind."

Nero rolled his eyes as the Professor waved a hand "Right here, Miss Brand."

Laura brightened and went over to him and set her computer down on the table. "So….."

Shelby walked in a little slower and went over next to Raven. She leaned over on her shoulder. Raven turned and looked at her. "Yeah? What are you doing here?"

"That's my question." Nero said, coming back over.

Shelby shrugged real slow and tired "I'm bored."

Nero scoffed quietly "We've been here what? Three hours?"

"Well classes are over. Laura is boring and Wing is busy." Shelby said.

"And we all know you can't last five minutes without your boyfriend." Raven said sarcastically, setting her phone down. Shelby didn't react, but picked up the purple cased I-phone.

"I used to have one of these." she said, with the same weary tone in her voice "Now it's gone. You guys took it away."

"What's got _you_ in the nostalgic mood?" Raven asked, looking at her in amusement.

"I'm not." Shelby protested faintly. "I'm just…" she opened her mouth in a loud yawn "..tired."

"No, Ms. Gonzales gave three students some kind of a plant for an experiment today and Shelby got something to make her sleep." Laura explained, not looking up from her computer.

"Why don't go and sleep it off?" Nero asked exasperatedly.

Shelby looked at him "It's not night time. I can't sleep when it's not night."

"Why not?" Raven asked.

"Because that's a waste of life." Shelby said "I want to be doing something. Especially when there is no class." she paused "Hey. Why do you have a phone when you can't even use it here?" she asked Raven.

"Why do you care?" the assassin asked back.

"Just wondering." the student replied innocently.

"I can use it _off_..." Raven lingered on the word for Shelby "..the island."

"That's true." Shelby nodded. "Do you text people?"

"No, of course not." Raven rolled her eyes and whacked Shelby over the head. "What else would I do?"

"Ouch." Shelby said, rubbing her head.

"Yea, she's a depressed texter." Darkdoom put in, slipping his own phone inside his pocket. Nero glanced at him.

"What. I am not." Raven growled, scowling at him.

"Yea, yea you are." Darkdoom said with a smile. She narrowed her eyes and gave him the 'what in the world are you talking about' look.

"Why do you say that?" Nero asked.

"She just is. Like, no smileys, no exclamation points, no anything." his friend replied.

"It's texting. You don't need it." Raven said matter of factly, scooting her chair back so she could lean against the table and rest her chin on her hands.

"Literally." Darkdoom ignored her. "I texted her and said 'Hello Natalya. Max said you were free this weekend and could come with me to Brazil' with a smiley. And I think that sounds nice, right?"

The group nodded, except for Laura and the Professor, who were very absorbed in their computer project. Darkdoom went on.

"Well then I get a text about a minute later that has a single word, OK." he looked at Raven "And I was like, what the heck is this girl's problem?"

"Well ok! I can do it!" Raven exclaimed.

"I felt like a slave driver." Darkdoom said to the people around the table, still not really acknowledging her.

"Why?" Raven snapped, throwing her hands up.

"Natalya, just say it in your head. You sound sad." Darkdoom said.

Raven titled her head back and forth as she resaid it silently. Darkdoom waited and gazed at her

"Nope! Doesn't sound sad!" she concluded.

"How does that not sound sad to you?" he asked.

"Just imagine me saying ok to you." Raven suggested "Then I don't sound so sad and you don't feel like such a jerk for a couple minutes of your life."

Nero barely held back a laugh, glancing at his insulted friend, who gaped at Raven.

"Okay okay." he waved at his hand. "That's all." The two of them narrowed eyes at each other for a second then looked away.

Pietor reached into his pocket and looked at his phone, which was buzzing. Immediately his face became annoyed.

Anastasia leaned over "Who is it?"

"No one important." her brother growled, standing up.

"No really." Anastasia pressed.

"Convit." was all Pietor said as he left the room.

"Oh." Anastasia sat back and the door closed. "Great. Now he's gonna be in the _best _mood _ever_ tonight."

"Do you know who it was?" Raven asked.

"Someone in the Convit office." Anastasia said with an irritated shake of her head. "Fun fun fun."

**Thanks for reading and sorry it took me so long! Please review and give me your thoughts! And if I don't update soon enough, please bug me with PM's!**


	17. Trustworthy yes?

**Hey guys! I know I am very slow at updating this story now. Sorry! These words are aimed particularly at guests who don't have an account on Fan fiction. Please review! It's so nice! And you should try to MAKE an account! All you need is an email. :) Thank you all! Please go to my profile and take the poll! And to let you all know, sorry I didn't make this clear. They are at H.I.V.E. and they are going to the Furans base in Russia. Don't forget. In my story, the original Glasshouse was never blown up…but don't worry. :-)**

It was early morning a few days later and classes hadn't started yet. Two men stood on the balcony faced to the Shroud dock below them.

"Are the Shrouds packed?" Nero asked the guard.

"Yes, sir. We should be ready to depart the island tomorrow." he replied. "The Colonel had extra supplies packed for any casualties."

"Good, thank you." Nero nodded, gazing at the several men moving around the multiple packed Shrouds.

The door swung open, and he glanced around.

Raven walked through the door, eyes also caught by the scene before her.

"Good morning, Natalya." he greeted her.

She nodded at him. "How are the preparations going?"

"Good. We should be ready leave by tomorrow." Nero said.

Raven nodded again, but he spotted the unease in her eyes like a hawk.

"Are you sure you're alright with this?" he asked, turning to face her.

"Alright with what?" Raven asked her voice calm and hard.

"No don't give me that." Nero said "You're worried about going."

Raven sighed quietly "I don't know what to expect, Max. This arrangement with them….they're too…I don't know." she shook her head "Don't worry about it."

"I don't want you to go into this situation blind." Nero replied sternly. "What are your thoughts? I want to know."

Raven didn't say anything for a second.

"Nothing, Max." she replied finally "They seem trustworthy, which is something I couldn't say a week ago."

"Truth in that." Nero agreed.

#################################################################

"Do we really have to go to the Colonel's class first hour from now on?" Shelby groaned. They walked out of their last class for the day since Dr. Nero had the later ones cancelled so the staff could gather.

"That's what our schedule says." Laura sighed. "I don't know about you, but that sounds like…..not a fun experience."

"_Ja._ This is sounding like a tiring morning from now on." Franz agreed.

"Everyone's in the same class, except…uhh….the tall, dark and stupid one." Shelby said, slugging Wing in the arm. "He gets to train with Raven."

"Would you prefer to take my place?" Wing asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, no I would not." Nigel said, breaking in.

"Are you still scared because of what she did in last month's class?" Shelby asked teasingly.

"No!" Nigel protested "I was never scared. I'm just saying she would not be easy to train with, unless you're…._good_…at that stuff."

"It was a very nice pep talk she gave." Wing added "You should take from it. It is rare for her to make such specific speeches to an individual student."

"Yeah I know." Nigel said, with a slightly stronger voice. They five of them walked down the hall toward their corridor in silence until they passed Raven's training room. Shelby glanced in the window through the door.

"Wow look! It's the whole shabang in there!" she exclaimed.

Dr. Nero, Darkdoom, Pietor, Anastasia, and the rest of the senior staff stood were in there talking again. Well, Pietor wasn't really talking, so much as listening and looking stoic as usual. Raven wasn't with them.

"Let's go in!" Shelby said.

"I am thinking that will not be wise." Franz said nervously "The Colonel is being in there."

"I love how an assassin is in there and the only thing you notice is the Colonel." Shelby replied. "Come on! Dr. Nero's right there. He can't do anything!"

"We already barged in on their meeting." Laura said cautiously.

"Last week!" Shelby exclaimed "That was a whole seven days ago."

"I don't know how happy Dr. Nero will be." Wing put in.

"Well I'm going in to see my dad." Nigel said "Shelby, you can come if you want. No one will get mad at me."

"I want everyone to come!" Shelby complained "Come on guys!"

Wing and Laura sighed. "Alright."

"Unwise." Franz muttered.

Shelby pushed open the door.

All the heads went in their direction.

"Hey." Shelby waved an arm once. Wing and Laura both pointed at her from behind.

Darkdoom smiled at Nigel, while Nero scowled at all of them, eyes narrowing.

"Nigel wants to see his dad!" Shelby said defensively.

"And you all had to come with him?" Nero asked.

"What harm are they doing?" Ms. Leon asked, trotting over to the group as Nigel went over to his dad.

Nero let out an irritated breath at the cat.

"Why are you guys in here?" Shelby asked "This is like Raven's territory. She gets mad if we try and come in here alone."

"Which is why we assumed we might be able to talk in peace." the Colonel replied, giving them a small glare.

"Well go on." Shelby said "We won't bother you. Come on Wing! Over here!"

Wing looked reluctant as he followed her along with Laura and Franz.

Nero ignored them and they went on with their conversation.

"Why are you so quiet?" Darkdoom asked Pietor, with a smile.

Pietor scowled slightly, looking around. "I'm quiet?"

They nodded at him.

"You've said maybe two words." Anastasia told him "You're not usually quiet."

"I'm not being quiet!" Pietor exclaimed in annoyance.

"Yes, you are." his sister replied.

"No, I'm not." he insisted irritably. "You-"

A black shape flew from above, landing on Pietor and rolled him across the floor. Anastasia's eyes flew open for a second. Nero and the others turned quickly.

Pietor shoved Raven off him and got to his feet.

"Natalya what are you doing?" he asked crossly "You can't fight me right now. You're going to make your injury worse."

"Well, the doctor just gave me the all-clear." Raven replied with a wry smile.

"Oh ho." Pietor gazed at her. He stepped forward and the pair of them locked in combat blows matching evenly and their speed impossible.

Anastasia relaxed and turned away slightly, eyes rolling.

"They'll be going at it for a while now." she said.

Nero watched them for a second, eyes steady, before turning away.

"Hey!" Franz called to Laura, Wing, and Shelby. "The experienced ones are being fighting!"

Anastasia smiled, with a glance at Nero.

The students walked over and gazed down at the two assassins battling together.

"Whoo hoo hoo!" Shelby cheered. "Dr. Nero, can I train with Raven?"

"No, Ms. Trinity." Nero replied, shaking his head.

"I guess I have Wing." Shelby muttered, elbowing him.

"Hey Natalya! Be careful with him!" Anastasia called "He's not as young as he used to be!"

"Shut up, Anastasia!" Pietor shouted back. His sister smiled and Raven let out a trill of laughter.

Nero felt a bit of tension leave his shoulders. This was going to be okay with them.

**It isn't true of course. Pietor's awesome! **** PLEASE REVIEW! Thanks for reading! Go take my poll! :)**


	18. On Our Way

**Hey guys! To take my poll, just go to my profile and it will be at the very top of the page! Please review! Hey guests and ANYONE! I love you all and thank you for reading!**

Shelby let the door close to her room. She had just got back from Raven's training room while on the other hand, Laura, had returned quite some time ago.

"I wonder if we get to go with them to the Furans place." she said, sitting on her bed. Laura shrugged, still tapping away at her computer.

"Wing is going, so I assume….."

"No I don't think so." Shelby argued "Wing is the kind of person they need for this. To them, we're just empty space."

"I'm sure Dr. Nero will let us go." Laura said distractedly.

"He better. I'm sick of doing nothing." Shelby growled, falling back.

"I like the change from the constant death threats." Laura replied "Now go away. I'm typing."

"What for?" Shelby groaned inwardly "Can't I even talk to you?"

"Not this second. I'm busy. It's for Professor Pike." Laura said, clicking the screen down.

"What is? Are we going to start talking in one word sentences?"

"Sure." Laura replied "If it will shut you up."

"OK!" Shelby gave in and went into the bathroom.

####################################################################

Nero watched the last few children walk out of his classroom before standing up himself. Darkdoom waited at the doorway, with a half-smile on his face.

"That was long." he said.

"Really? That class felt a lot shorter than others." Nero replied.

"You sit in a classroom every day." Darkdoom replied "I can see why."

"Thank you, Diablous." Nero smiled wryly. "Are the men loaded to go?"

"Yes. All we need to do is gather the people who are going and leave. Whenever we want." Darkdoom said.

"Do you know where Raven is?" Nero asked.

"The last time I saw her was training with Wing this morning." his friend said "But I haven't seen her since."

Nero tapped his ear piece once and waited.

"Yes, Max? Are we ready to leave?" came Raven's voice over the com.

"Very soon. I wanted to talk with you in my office before we do. Can you go there now?" Nero asked.

"Yes, on my way." The line went dead.

Darkdoom looked at him "You're worried about taking her, aren't you?"

Nero gave a slight shake of his head "No. I'm worried she's not telling me that _she's_ worried."

"We'll both be there, Max. What does she have to worry about?" Darkdoom gave a smile.

Nero let out a huff of laughter "Can't argue with that."

####################################################

"There are rules here." Nero said sternly to the two girls standing in front of him. "You will not go _anywhere_ you are told not to."

"We know!" Shelby said excitedly, barely keeping from jumping up and down.

"And you will _do_ what you're told." Nero went on, with a look at her "We will no longer be at H.I.V.E. This is someone else's place entirely. You will mind and listen to the Furans."

"Trust me, I _know._" Shelby moaned.

"Thank you, Dr. Nero." Laura said a big smile on her face. He rolled his eyes slightly and turned away, quietly muttering.

"This is wicked." Shelby said lowly. "All the way to Russia, _with_ the two coolest people ever."

"Do you mean Wing and me, Raven and Dr. Nero or Pietor and Anastasia?" Laura asked.

"You pick." Shelby replied, gazing at the approaching boy.

"So you two are indeed going as well?" Wing asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah! We can totally wreck the place!" Shelby said.

"Shelby." Wing and Laura both gave her half glares.

"I'm _kidding_! Come on! Take a joke!" Shelby exclaimed.

"I don't think that joking about this is a good idea." Laura replied.

"Auntie Shelby knows what she's doing!" Shelby replied "Anastasia so nice!"

"She does appear very nice." Laura agreed.

"But that doesn't mean to be reckless." Wing objected "You two need to show a little more composure and respect. You should be grateful they are taking us along."

"I am." Laura said defensively.

"Me too! But less so." Shelby added "We have proven ourselves plenty of times before this and deserve to go!"

Wing and Laura both rolled their eyes.

"Shelby, do you know how many students get to leave this island even for a day?" Laura asked irritably "Uhhhh….zip."

"But we're special." Shelby said with a smile.

"Do you know what I find intriguing?" Wing asked, eyes gazing across the room "The closeness between the Furans as brother and sister."

Shelby and Laura turned to follow Wing's eyes.

Anastasia and Pietor were standing across the hangar. Pietor was talking and Anastasia laughing quietly with a hand to her mouth, apparently struggling not too. She bent over slightly as he went on, an arm over her stomach, still laughing, and put a hand on his shoulder to keep her balance.

"It is odd." Wing went on, eyes thoughtful.

"Why? I mean they are brother and sister." Laura said.

"Look at how contrasted their personalities are." Wing said.

"I just think it's cool how Pietor protects her like he does." Shelby added, a bit too loudly.

"Oh…uh..I think he heard his name." Laura said, deliberately looking the other way.

Pietor was looking over with a slight narrow in his eyes. After a second he turned back to his sister.

"Shelby, will you shut up?" Laura growled in exasperation.

"What? No harm done!" Shelby defended herself.

The people were starting to load onto the Shroud. Nero and Darkdoom walked aboard after the Furans and Raven followed them. The Colonel headed across the room.

"The Colonel's coming?" Shelby groaned.

"Who did you think was going to give the men orders?" Laura asked.

They climbed on the Shroud.

They were on their way to Russia.


	19. Furan's Base

**WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! EVERYONE! GO TO PAGE 65 IN DEADLOCK! ANASTASIA **_**IS **_**OLDER THAN PIETOR AND SHE IS **_**GRIEVING **_**FOR HIM! I JUST REREAD THAT PART. IT SAYS "Where a picture of her LATE-brother Pietor Furan hung."**

**WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! DYING HAPPILY. Not sure why. :) Back to the story. I am just in love with Pietor that's all!**

**I know the Glasshouse is supposed to be like a castle or something but that isn't how I imagine it. To me it's just a huge spacious building and that is kind of like it is here, but you can use your own imagination! And I know that Nero loved Elena, but I am not going to have him show a lot of emotion in this story about her because I want it focused on the Furans. Sorry if annoying. He **_**does**_** love her.**

**Please review and go take my poll if you haven't. I am going to close it soon!**

The sky was very dark and the air outside was freezing in Russia.

The Shroud slowly descended into the white outdoor landing format below it, blades whirling to a stop. The guards around the perimeter of it came forward as the hatch slowly opened.

Anastasia came out first with Pietor right behind her. The men dipped their heads respectfully as the Furans walked past.

Nero and Darkdoom came next, than Raven.

Oddly enough, the men seemed to give more esteem to Raven than the two men, greeting her with the same politeness as the Furans. The Colonel followed with the students.

"Whoa, will you _look _at this?" Shelby said in awe, her breath billowing in the air.

In front of them was a large building or what looked more like a military fort. Cement floor extended from the building for about a foot before grass carried on to the tall fence surrounding the building and everything in it.

Outside the fence was a luscious forest of pine trees, which almost hid the place from view unless you actually took the road leading into it or flew in.

Anastasia fell back beside them as Pietor went to open the gate.

"Wow. We're gone two days and its _freezing_ here." she said, glancing up at the night sky. "How quickly it turns."

"I've always wondered what Hawaiian people would think-" Raven cleared her throat against the cold air "-if they came here and saw this. They'd probably think we were all smokers."

The group shared a quiet laugh bright lights flickered on all around the building as the gate opened.

They all walked in quickly. Pietor opened the main doors to the building.

"How are you not freezing?" Anastasia asked him in tired exasperation.

"It feels good out here." her brother replied.

"No it doesn't!" Anastasia called back to him as he walked back out into the darkness. "Oh let's get inside. He can freeze if he wants." she opened the door fully.

Once they had shared amusement, they walked inside and swiftly across a corridor that had several guards walking around, giving orders as they did so. They were obviously preparing for the battle against the Convit.

Anastasia led them through a hallway and into a very spacious hangar, which is the only real word you can use to describe it. It was quiet in there, as they closed the door and left the working men behind.

The ceiling was very high above their heads and in the far side of the room were two staircases that led to the same balcony hallway. There were a few doors on the upper floor.

A little ways ahead on their left was the medical bay, with a large window in the wall to it and beyond that seemed to be the main control panel for the lights and heating. In the center of the room were several couches and chairs arranged in a circle.

"Oh whoops." Anastasia grimaced at them "Pietor never moved those back in order from his last meeting. That looks so awful to walk in on."

The guests shared a look behind her in amusement because no one really cared.

"You can set your stuff down here. We can take it up later." Anastasia said, going over and pushing a chair correctly.

They did so and went over to join her, taking seats once the several couches had been put right.

"This place is awesome." Shelby whispered to Laura, who nodded vigorously.

In the corner of the room was a large fireplace, which gave the whole room a very home-like feeling.

Anastasia glanced at the clock on the table. "Wow. It's eleven-thirty at night here."

"Really?" Shelby asked "Doesn't feel that late."

Anastasia smiled "That's because we switched time zones, dear."

Everyone rolled their eyes and Shelby let out an "Ohhhhhh…."

"You're smaaaaart." Laura commented.

"So what time is it back home?" Shelby asked.

"About seven." Nero replied.

"Weird." Shelby said, shaking her head.

One of the doors on the left side opened up, and Pietor walked in, quickly closing the door against the wind that was picking up.

"Brrr…..It is going to be cold tonight." he said, walking to the controls on the wall.

"No it _is_ cold." Anastasia corrected.

"Aww...wimp." Pietor replied, closing the door on the small panel.

"Thank you." Anastasia said sarcastically.

"You are most welcome, your majesty." her brother replied, leaving the room through the same door they had entered.

"What are you doing?" Anastasia called to him.

"My business!" he called back.

She rolled her eyes irritably and turned her head back to the watching group. "Be right back." she got up and followed Pietor out.

"They're so funny together." Laura said, with a grin on her face. Nero smiled slightly.

"I didn't know Russia was this _cold_." Shelby said, rubbing her arms.

"Welcome to reality." Darkdoom replied, with a wry smile. "We are also on another continent. Anything else you need explained?"

"Yes, how did you not know we changed time?" Nero asked.

"I _did!_" Shelby squealed "I just didn't think."

Nero glanced at Raven as they continued talking. She was looking behind her and her leg was tapping continually.

"Are you alright?" he asked her quietly.

Raven turned to look at him. "What?"

"Are you okay?" he repeated.

"Oh yes. I'm fine. Sorry, just thinking." she replied. He nodded.

Shelby had picked up the picture frame on the table in front of them.

"Look, it's one of the kinds that switches pictures automatically." she said, flipping it so they could see it.

They all leaned in to look.

The current picture of the screen was one of just Anastasia sitting on a rock in a forest, smiling. Then it moved on to her and Pietor walking on a beach.

"That must have been a while ago." Darkdoom said "They look younger."

The next one had a younger blonde in it with Pietor. He actually had a smile on his face. Well as big as Pietor's smiles get.

"Who the heck is that?" Shelby asked. Laura looked up at the adults.

No one replied for a second.

"That is their little sister Elena." Nero said after a second.

"They have a little sister?" Laura asked.

"_Had_ a little sister." Nero corrected.

"Oh." the girls were silent for a second.

"How old is she in that picture?" Shelby wondered out loud. Nero shrugged.

The frame went on to one of Pietor, his hand blocking the majority of the picture. The group laughed for a second. Then it went to the three Furans standing together outside a house. Pietor was in the middle, arms squashing his sisters nicely. The next was Pietor in military uniform with Anastasia next to him and Elena peering around the camera face to get in the picture, with a tongue sticking out.

"Elena's funny." Shelby said, smiling at the frame.

The next ones were current pictures of the two Furans together.

The door opened in the back and Shelby set it back down on the table, glancing back.

"Whoo! Sorry!" Anastasia came hurrying back in and over to them.

"Well, welcome!" she said, waving her arms at the place around them and smiling. "A bit delayed, but never the less, welcome!"

**I hope it wasn't too cheesy. I just really believe that the Furans had a really good relationship with each other and still do. Please review and take my poll! **


	20. Morning

**Please Review!**

Laura and Shelby slowly walked down the stairs and onto the main floor. There was a fire going in the fireplace even though sun shone through the windows. Outside you could see a thin layer of snow on all the pine trees.

"Where is everyone? They have to be awake. It's nine o'clock." Laura asked, looking around at the empty couches and chairs. It was silent.

"I don't know." an evil grin came over Shelby's face "Time for a little exploration, yes?" she looked around the hangar eagerly.

"Shelby _no_." Laura growled "If we were caught, Dr. Nero would _murder_ us. Not to mention the Furans."

"Oh come on!"

"We might even be sent home." Laura went on.

"Indeed you would." came a voice from their right. Both of the girls turned and winced.

Nero walked up, a stern look on his face. "What did I tell you two girls just before we came here?"

Shelby sighed "Okay okay you win. I won't debate it."

"I don't think that's the matter here, Miss Trinity." Nero said "You were about to knowingly disobey me."

Shelby sighed again "Sorry."

"It won't happen again. Because I can arrange a perfectly comfortable Shroud to come and return you to your studies." Nero replied, turning "Come in here where I can see you."

"Nice going, hot shot." Laura growled, as she turned to follow him. "Now we can't have _any_ freedom."

"Oh he can't watch us every second." Shelby replied mischievously.

The three of them walked across the room and into the door on the right.

Raven, Darkdoom, and Wing both sat in chairs around the table, talking to Anastasia, who was leaning against the kitchen counter.

"And then I just told him 'No! Sorry, but I wouldn't be any use in the assassin kind of field.'" Anastasia went on "He goes 'You could totally learn from our experts at the Convit training center.'"

Raven and Darkdoom laughed.

"I just looked at him like." Anastasia tilted her head "Do you even _know _who my brother is?"

"Did he even realize after?" Darkdoom asked.

Anastasia shook her head, smiling "Nope, although he probably thought of it later."

"What's that?" Nero asked, coming into the room.

"Oh I was just telling them about one of the numerous times the Convit people have tried to get me to join." Anastasia said "A bit annoying really."

"Where is Pietor anyway?" Darkdoom asked, leaning back in his chair.

"Oh he's at work." Anastasia tossed the towel in the sink. She waved a hand "The Convit stuff."

"What time did he leave?" Darkdoom asked "We were up at seven-thirty."

"I don't know. Probably around six." Anastasia replied "Then he gets back at like six at night. Nice day."

"Could he leave the Convit if he wanted?" Nero asked, sitting down beside Raven. The students followed him next to Wing.

"Yes I suppose, but…." Anastasia tilted her head side to side. "They'd keep bugging him and this way it keeps them off our place. Also, we don't really want them to be in control of Russia, so…what do you do?"

The door to the room swung open and a guard walked in.

"Pardon me, Madame Furan. There was a notice from the Convit general." he handed her a tan piece of paper and left.

Anastasia looked at it up and down. "Something for Pietor." she set it on the kitchen counter.

"Aren't you curious as to what it is?" Raven asked, eying it, then Anastasia.

"Yes, but I get to see when he gets home." Anastasia replied "He gets mad when I barge into his mail from the Convit because I-" she bent her fingers in quotation marks "Am not technically part of it."

**Hey I am sorry if this is to slow of a story, but this is how I like to write! Nice and slow through the days! **** Remember to review! :)**


	21. First Conselor

**Go read Sailorravens "If I Die Young" story. It is amazing! Thank you all who review! And guests! THIS PART IS MEANT FOR YOU! YOUR OPINION DOES MATTER! Please review! **

The sun shone brightly down on the group standing outside. The snow had somewhat melted although it was still cold out, but at least it was bearable. They all wore light coats against the light breeze picking up.

"Is it really summer here?" Shelby asked, leaning against the wall of the building. "Cause it is_ way _too cold for summer!"

"Oh no." Anastasia smiled, pulling the sides of her furry white jacket closer together. "It's more like fall. Not winter yet."

"You mean it gets _colder?_" Shelby asked in exasperation.

"Much." Anastasia nodded.

"How can you bear that?" Darkdoom asked, shaking his head.

"It's easier when you're born into it, trust me." Anastasia said "Although I do love the heat in other places. If it were hot here, it just wouldn't be the same."

There was a quiet rumbling and a dog barking in the distance. Anastasia looked over.

"He's home!" she said cheerily and went over towards the gate. She pushed the controls and the gate slowly opened automatically.

A big black truck rounded the corner of the tall pine trees. As soon as Pietor drove through the gate, Anastasia went over and ran along with the car, putting her hands on the window and smiling in. In the back of the truck was a big husky dog, chained to the floor of the truck and barking continuously.

"Does Pietor have a dog?" Shelby asked Laura quietly, who shrugged.

Pietor waved at her in mock excitement as he turned the car into the garage. Anastasia still smiled and she ran after him.

######

"Well how as your day?" Anastasia asked Pietor once all of them had gone inside.

"Don't ask." Pietor replied, setting his stuff by the computer.

"Awww….that bad?"

"No of course not. It was great! They had me go and do something useful instead of making me sit at a desk all day." Pietor rolled his eyes and turned away. Anastasia smiled at him.

"You've really been sitting in a desk all day?" Raven asked, with a slight smile on her face.

"No. No! I'm just saying that to hear my own voice." Pietor said sarcastically.

Raven stuck her tongue out from behind him.

"And don't stick your tongue out at me." Pietor said, shooting her a look. Raven closed her mouth, but everyone was really amused at his grouchiness.

"What are you doing now?" Anastasia asked, leaning over his head.

"Get off. You're not supposed to look at this." Pietor replied, still typing.

"Well you're not doing a very good job of stopping me." Anastasia said, her eyes flicking across the words.

"Go away, please." Pietor said, waving a hand at her.

"You got a notice from the Convit General today." Anastasia told him.

"Well go get it."

His sister rolled her eyes, went into the kitchen, and returned with the note. She set it next to the key board.

"Thanks." Pietor said.

Anastasia waved at the others to come over to the middle of the room with her.

"Let's leave him to be grumpy." she said. Nero smiled as they followed her over.

"How are the men doing?" Darkdoom asked, as they sat down.

"The Colonel reported everything appeared to be in order." Nero replied, crossing his legs.

"Yes. I had a look in." Anastasia added "It seems fine."

"What we need now is a layout of the main building we're attacking." Nero said.

"Oh yes. We should get that tonight." Anastasia "Hey Pietor?"

"What?"

"Can we go and get the floor plan of the Convit building tonight?"

"Wouldn't it be locked and guarded at this time?" Darkdoom asked.

"Locked, yes. Guarded, no." Anastasia replied "They are too confident with their power, so they wouldn't think anyone would…..try to break in. Pietor has a key though, so that makes everything easier, right? Pietor?"

"Yea. In a minute."

#####

The black truck pulled up in the parking lot and the engine quieted while the lights flicked off. The driver's door opened and Pietor stepped out.

"This place is spooky at night." Anastasia said as she climbed out of her own side. Raven, Nero and Darkdoom did as well. The wind blew softly, making the few trees in the yard rustle. They had left the students at the Furans with the Colonel to watch them.

They walked up to the entrance and Pietor dug his keys out of his pocket. He unlocked and the door swung open.

Lights slowly turned on in the hallway before them.

"Ta da." Pietor waved a hand, exaggerating their entrance. He led them down the hall, than turned left to a short hallway with several doors.

On the first door on the left, next to it was a little sign with "Soldat Poruchik-Pietor Furan"

Pietor unlocked that door as well and turned on the lights in his office. It was a spacious yet confined little room with two desks. One with a computer and printer, the other that was empty on top except a picture frame and pencil holder.

Pietor sat in the chair and slid it over to the computer one, clicking to wake the computer up.

"Do you have a key to like every room in this place?" Anastasia asked, flicking at the pencils on the desk.

"Uhhhhmmm…..all…except one." Pietor replied, concentrating on the screen in front of him.

Raven looked at the picture on his desk. It was him and Anastasia together. Anastasia smiled in the picture, while Pietor looked a bit amused, mouth almost curved and looked past the camera.

Nero smiled as he saw it as well. The printer clicked and started rolling.

Pietor stood up and went over to the printer, waiting until it was all the way printed, then pull it off. He rolled it up, stuck a rubber band around it and gave it to Nero.

"Thank-you." Nero said, accepting it.

####

Anastasia, Nero and Darkdoom studied the map as the fire burned in the fireplace. Raven seemed a bit less interested and looked at it every ten seconds in between reading her book. (The same book Nero had given her.)

Laura was writing something quickly on her notebook across from them and Shelby and Wing sat beside her, talking quietly. Pietor still typed on the computer.

"So it has three floors. One on top, one on bottom." Darkdoom said "What are you planning on doing with all the agents, I mean assuming they stop us."

Anastasia pointed her hand at her brother "That's his decision. He's been working there for almost ten years. He knows what to do. Really, you got a very poor image of the Convit; while you were being held." she said to Nero and Raven "It isn't all bad. Gabdin was one of the worst generals they had. A lot of the people who work there are quite friendly."

"Ya think?" Raven asked, rubbing her shoulder. Anastasia smiled and nodded sadly.

"Gabdin was just…"

"A pathetic idiot." Pietor finished for her from over on his computer.

"Well I wasn't going to say….." Anastasia struggled not to smile as her brother stood up and grabbed the letter. He shook his head.

"No, oh no. Just call him what he is." Pietor replied, turning to run up the flight of stairs.

"Yea, Gabdin and him never got along very well." Anastasia said, which a breathy laugh "Mostly because Gabdin was technically in charge of him for a while and they clashed…." she clapped her hands together soundlessly "…badly."

"Yea, we didn't clash very well either." Raven said, with a shake of her head.

"Was Gabdin the same person who captured us?" Shelby asked, sitting up.

"I would assume so." Nero said as Anastasia nodded.

"He was mean." Laura said, glancing up from her paper for a second.

Anastasia sighed "Yes, he was a very vulgar man. Pietor never let me near him. At any of the Convit gatherings it was like me, then Gabdin across the room." she gestured with her hands "Pietor was always right between."

They laughed quietly.

"Yea, he's got that brotherly force behind him definitely." Anastasia went on.

A few minutes later no one saw Pietor was coming back down the stairs, with an angry look on his face. He held the Convit notice ripped open in one hand. He held it right in front of Anastasia's face.

"Read this."

"Why what's wrong?" Anastasia asked, standing up.

"What's wrong? Chto v mire oni dumayt? Ya ikh mneniyu, ya sobirayus' prokhodit' etogo zhivotnogo, to eto proshchaniye Convit! Ya ne khochu rabotat' bok prezidenta!" Pietor gestured at the note furiously "Eto naiboleye zhalkaya veshch'v Rossii!"

Anastasia held the note up and quickly started reading it. Pietor turned and walked towards the kitchen door, still babbling in Russian.

"Ya ukhozhu! Ya ushel pryamo seychas! Chomu vony tak zi mnoyu? Tse absolyutno bez- hluzdo!"

You could hear him until the door slammed shut and it went quiet.

"What's happened?" Nero asked, looking at Anastasia.

"I'm not really sure. He switched languages twice." Anastasia replied with a rather nervous look on her face as she read the note.

"Ohhhhhhhh." she said lowly. A smile came over her face.

"What?" Darkdoom asked.

"It reads." Anastasia cleared her throat "Greetings, Mister Furan. After the very unfortunate and untimely death of Chief Gabdin, the President has so graciously asked you to take his place as first counselor in the main Convit presidency. If you so accept, the confirmation will be held in two days' time at the grand gathering." she let go of the note and let it hit the floor, putting a hand over her face.

They waited in silence and it took them a minute to realize Anastasia was not stressed, she was _laughing._

"Oh my word." she wiped under her eyes after a second, making sure her make-up was alright. "Now I can see why he was so mad." she stopped a second to catch her breath.

"Is this a bad thing?" Raven asked slowly.

Anastasia shook her head "No, it's actually a good thing for us, but….ahhh!" she laid her head back on the couch "Poor Pietor!"

"Why?" Darkdoom asked, scowling in confusion.

"Well the good news is, now we can get the current location of the President and his people and Pietor has more access to all the keys and people of the Convit. The bad news is, it's a lot more work and he has to work with the President, although I'm don't see the absolute downside to that." Anastasia closed her eyes and started laughing silently again "It's ironic don't you think? He kills the man to get rid of the general in this place, then is asked to take his place, so he can put power back into this area, and nobody knows he was the one who killed the previous man in the job, yet all Pietor actually wants is to take down the Convit."

"Oh boy." Darkdoom muttered.

"This is going to be fun." Anastasia said, with a smile.

**Please please review!**


	22. A Quiet Walk in the Forest

**Please Review!**

Shelby, Laura and Wing stepped quietly down the stairs. The moon shone brightly through the large window high above, as it was still night.

"We shouldn't be up." Laura said quietly, stopping.

"Why not?" Shelby whispered "We stay up this late at H.I.V.E. all the time."

"I _mean_." Laura replied irritably "We shouldn't be exploring at five in the morning. We're going to get in trouble."

"Indeed." Wing said, nodding.

"Then why did you two come?" Shelby challenged.

"I am merely here to ensure your safety, should you do anything unwise." Wing replied.

"I kind of want to see this place too." Laura confessed.

"Then don't complain, come on." Shelby said continuing down. They followed her to the bottom and turned to their left once down, to a door.

A voice suddenly spoke behind them.

"Restless are we?"

The three students turned around quickly.

Anastasia looked at them from across the room and set down the book she had been reading by the dim lamp. She stood up off the chair and slowly walked over to them, eyes unreadable.

The three of them were silent, as they gazed at her, speechless.

The woman waited silently, turning her head to the side slightly.

"I'm sorry." Shelby said, her mouth dry "We couldn't sleep."

"That's odd for ones so young." she replied.

They didn't say anything in reply, but waited for her to speak again.

Anastasia sighed quietly "Get your coats. Let's go for a walk."

####

The night was very still and cold outside. No creature stirred and the light snow on the ground sparkled in the moonlight.

Three children walked beside a tall, older woman along the forest path. Anastasia tucked the two sides of her white fur coat together as they walked. She closed her eyes a second and breathed in the chilly air. There was silence between them for a while as they walked.

"It's a pretty moon, isn't it." Anastasia murmured.

"Very." Laura replied, staring up at it.

Anastasia opened her eyes, the white circle reflected in them.

Their shoes crunched the shallow snow softly as they traveled along the trail a ways. A time later, Shelby spoke again.

"Who…" she faded off slightly.

Anastasia stopped and turned to her, eyes unwavering "Yes?"

Shelby didn't speak for a second, then she seemed to gather her voice.

"In the picture frame on the table at your home, there was a picture of a blond woman." she said slowly.

Laura's eye widened slightly as she glanced at her friend in shock.

"Dr. Nero told us it was your younger sister." Shelby went on, looking at Anastasia.

The woman's eyes sharpened with interest at the mention of Nero, but quieted again.

"Yes, it was. Elena was her name." she said, eyes filling with memories for a second. She looked back at Shelby, hands tucked in her pockets. "What would you like to know?"

The student looked a bit startled at the open invitation and was quiet for a moment.

"How old were you when she was born?" she asked.

"Eleven." Anastasia replied, gazing into the forest. "Pietor was around seven."

"What was she like?" Shelby asked.

"Very pretty, and an amazing personality," Anastasia responded "She never let her spirit get down. Always ready to move….."

"How old was she when she died?" Laura asked softly. Wing watched Anastasia with interest.

"Twenty-six." the older woman replied. "Too young." she sighed and looked down "Far too young." then she turned her head to them "But life goes on."

They were all quiet for a minute, before Anastasia squeezed her coat tighter.

"Brrr…..let's start heading back." she said. "It will be light soon."

####

They arrived at the Furan's base just as the sun was barely beginning to rise. Anastasia took her hand out from her pocket and unlocked and opened the door. She held it open for them.

"You might want to get some more sleep, so you're not too tired later." she said.

The students nodded and they went through. Just before Shelby was all the way in, she stopped, looking at her feet.

"Thanks for taking us out. I had fun." she said and paused "We…..we don't have to mention this to Dr. Nero do we? He'll send us home for sure."

Anastasia gazed at her a minute, eyes steady. She tilted her head "Go inside."

Shelby dipped her head slightly and walked in with the others.

Anastasia watched them for a second, before turning away, back towards the forest, and staring out.

**I know the part about Elena was abrupt a bit. I was listening to sad, honorable music and it reminded me how brave the Furans have been. Was really feeling it there. I love them….. You can go look at my new Cover for this story to see Elena. She was amazing…there is a lullaby written for her on Itunes…so sweet. Sorry I am in a nostalgic mood.**

**Please review**


	23. Ice Cream for Breakfest

**Please Review! By the way, in chapter 21 (I think) Pietor said:**

**What is their problem? If they're going to treat me like an animal, then it's good bye Convit! As if I don't work hard enough! They are so stupid! Now they want me to work next to the president?**

**Somewhere along those lines. Sorry I didn't translate, I speak some Russian and Ukrainian so it is a bit different than Google Translate.**

**GUYS! I EMAILED MARK WALDEN AND HE RESPONDED SAYING (TO MY QUESTIONS) "Yes my favorite character is Raven and Nero cares about her a great deal! H.I.V.E. 9 is on the way! (And other less important stuff) I AM SOOO HAPPY!**

"Did you sleep anymore?" Shelby asked Laura and Wing as they walked down the stairs for a second time that day. Laura shot her an annoyed look.

"What?" Shelby exclaimed.

"No I didn't, thank you very much and thanks to you, that was probably our last night here." Laura replied irritably.

"I didn't _force_ you to come with me." Shelby pointed out. "Besides Anastasia-"

"Anastasia is going to be the responsible adult and let Dr. Nero know what we were up too." Laura growled.

"Do you really think so?" Shelby said, suddenly anxious.

"I don't know." Laura replied "I'd just rather be safe than sorry."

They got to the bottom of the stairs and Darkdoom walked out from the kitchen.

"Good morning you three." he said, with a smile.

"Where is everyone?" Shelby asked.

"Oh around. They're working on something." Darkdoom replied "I was going outside for a bit of a breather. Want to come with?"

"Sure." Shelby said as Laura replied "Why not?"

The four of them went over to the same door the three students had left through earlier that morning. It was now unlocked and they headed outside. The sun was shining warmly, although a thin layer of snow still covered the area.

They went around the corner towards the back of the building.

To their surprise, Pietor was standing there, back facing them. Next to the wall of the house was a big metal wired dog cage with a single dog kennel in it, the door halfway open.

A large husky dog was running around the grassy field, the same one they had seen in the truck, the day before.

"No work today?" Darkdoom asked, coming up behind him.

Pietor glanced back at him "Nope." then rolled his eyes slightly "Technically, yea I guess, but I'm not going in."

Darkdoom chuckled as he walked up beside him. The dog dropped the ball and Pietor picked it up, chucking it far into the air.

"What's his name?" Darkdoom asked.

"Drake. Creative, right?" Pietor said, with a hint of sarcasm. Darkdoom smiled.

The three students looked back as the door opened. Nero walked out with Raven and Anastasia. The three of them spoke to each other as they walked over to the other group.

"Hey!" Anastasia called to her brother "You're here!"

Pietor waved his hands in mock excitement.

"Why didn't you go?" Anastasia asked, going up to him. "You're supposed to go, especially since you're the first counselor now."

"How do _you_ know?" Pietor asked "How do you know I said _yes_?"

"You agreed to it last night." his sister replied.

Pietor glanced back at her "How do you know that?"

"I didn't. I just guessed and got you to admit it." Anastasia smiled. He rolled his eyes and turned away.

"But isn't this technically a good thing?" she asked him "I mean being the _first_ counselor to the president? Do you know how close you get to work with him? This will help us."

Pietor didn't turn around, but he made a scoffing sound.

"You know it will." Anastasia said.

"No really? I had no idea." Pietor said, shooting her a look. She smiled back at him.

The dog was running back up to them, the ball in its mouth. He dropped it and went to inspect the other people.

Laura looked really tense as he came around them and almost squeezed Shelby's arm.

"Don't like dogs?" Pietor asked, catching a glimpse of her face.

"Uh….no…not particularly." Laura said her voice a bit shrill.

"You don't need to be scared." Pietor said, tilting his head "He won't eat you unless I tell him too."

Everyone smiled except Laura, who didn't look anymore reassured.

"That didn't help." Anastasia said for her.

"Look, he's not going to hurt you. He wouldn't touch a fly." Pietor said. "Watch."

Laura shook her head slightly.

"Drake, be nice." Pietor said, looking at the dog. The dog went down to his stomach, looking up at Pietor, its breath billowing in the air. He crawled over to Laura, edging on his belly and stared up at her, tongue hanging.

"Now he won't get up until you tell him too." Pietor continued "So when you're ready, let him know."

"How?" Laura asked, her voice a bit tight.

"Just stick out your hand, Laura." Raven said.

The student slowly lifted her arm and held out a hesitant hand.

Drake stood up and put a paw on her palm. Laura grimaced for a second, before relaxing. She smiled nervously and Drake wagged his tail. He let go and went back over to Pietor, almost as if to say _I did it_.

"Yep, that's all there is to it." Pietor said, throwing the ball again.

"You've had a gun to your face and I've never had you grab my arm like that." Shelby said, looking at her roommate.

"Well I-" Laura was cut off as she tried to defend herself.

"I'm just kidding, lady." Shelby said, smacking her arm.

"So what time is the ceremony tomorrow?" Anastasia asked her brother "Who's all coming?"

"Five o'clock and I don't know. Probably all the Convit members." Pietor replied.

"Wait, is the _president_ going to be there? He's never shown up to any parties before, but you know, this is important." Anastasia pondered.

"I have no idea." Pietor said "All I know is that I am supposed to be there at four thirty and they are serving dinner."

"Oooooohhh. Exciting." Anastasia said, twiddling her fingers.

####

"So we can carry out our plan with the Convit after you've had a couple days to get some more information." Anastasia asserted as they walked inside.

"Yes." Pietor replied.

"How do we know where the president will be?" Nero asked "Doesn't he move continually around Russia?"

"He has a several places, yes, but, he has to be here for the next month because of the meeting with Russia's actual president." Pietor replied.

"Do you know where he stays while he's here?" Nero asked.

"I will now, because I get personal meetings as a first counselor." Pietor responded.

"So ha! We couldn't have done it if this hadn't happened!" Anastasia said in triumph.

"Yes we could have." Pietor looked at her "All I had to do was go get it out of Gabdin's mouth."

"Yet, you killed him when you rescued them." Anastasia nodded slowly.

"Then I could get from the next first counselor. Are you really not following the pattern here?" Pietor asked, heading towards the stairs.

"But what if it had been one of your friends like David or Alex or someone?" Anastasia asked.

"Then I would ask them _nicely_." Pietor replied.

"Where are you going?" she called.

"Up the stairs." her brother responded.

"Well no duh. We should go somewhere. This is the first time you've been home during the day in a long time."

"Alright."

Anastasia turned back to Nero and the others "Feel like ice cream for breakfast?"

####

"It's weird." Raven said as Nero, her and Darkdoom got ready to leave. "There's nothing here."

"What do you mean?" Nero asked.

"I mean, I did a little walk through myself last night and-"

"You snuck around last night? After I just told the _children_ not too?" Nero asked, scowling a bit.

"What's dangerous, Max? I know my way around." Raven replied.

Nero shook his head "Go on. What were you saying?"

"There's no one here." Raven said "Except the Furans. I went back through to the place we came in and up to the dormitories. There is no one here."

"You went all the way there?" Nero queried.

"Yes, I did." Raven replied "No children."

"Kicked the habit?" Darkdoom asked, with a wry smile.

"Apparently. And no dogs. They used to have a whole herd of dogs. Now it's just the one." Raven went on.

Nero frowned slightly and Raven nodded.

"Weird, right? They also seem different. Distanced from their guards….less security….."

"Well they have no one to keep in now." Nero pointed out "That's odd, but a nice thing to hear."

"I mean Pietor's gone all day at the Convit, but the dormitories seemed abandoned, as if no one has been there in forever." Raven replied. "I just don't get it."

"Me neither." Nero replied.

"I would never have thought either of them as being pleasant company either, but honestly, they're not that bad." Darkdoom added. "I mean Pietor's kind of quiet, but you get around that."

"I wonder what Anastasia does all day, when he's gone and we're not here." Raven said.

"Oh, by the way. She told me, that Shelby, Laura and Wing were all sneaking around early this morning. She took them out for a walk to keep them entertained." Nero told them.

"Wing? Really?" Raven asked. Nero nodded.

"Looks like Miss Trinity and Brand got to him."

"Are you sending them back? You did explicitly tell them not to do that." Raven pointed out.

"Anastasia asked me not too." Nero replied "She said she probably freaked them out enough by being there while they tried to break rules. Honestly I'm still considering it."

"Kids will be kids." Darkdoom said in their defense "They're just curious. I mean come one. _Natalya_ went out to explore. Are you going to send her home?

Raven folded her arms and looked at him.

"He has a point, Natalya. Don't be angry." Nero said, with a smile. "No we probably need her here, Diablous."

Raven narrowed her eyes challengingly at Darkdoom. He stuck his tongue out at her.

"Alright, let's not act like the children here." Nero waved them off eachother. "The Furans are probably waiting. Let's go."


	24. Altogether Now

**Please Review!**

**By the way! Sorry for the replacement! I had to fix something!**

**Guys, Mark Walden, when I asked him about the Furans age order he gave me a VERY interesting clue….. **** Not sure if I should tell…..**

**You guys should go look at the videos on my profile for the Furans. :)**

**By the way, thank you guest who wants me to update! And the guest who is going to become a user soon!**

Later that evening, Nero and Anastasia once again studied the blueprints that Pietor had retrieved for them. The map was spread across the coffee table and the two superiors continually scanned it.

The students were outside at the moment, surprisingly without supervision. Raven and Darkdoom sat next to each other, both on their phones.

Pietor lay down on a couch, looking asleep, but every time his phone would buzz, which was every five seconds, he would open his eyes and check it. Drake lay on the floor near him, eyes also closed.

"Are you finding anything new?" Raven asked, in a slightly sarcastic tone, glancing at Nero and Anastasia. They both looked up for a second and she gave an innocent face.

"That's not why we're looking at it." Nero said, with a small smile, as he went back to gazing at it.

"Well why else?" Raven muttered quietly.

"Where would be the best place to prepare while Pietor and Natalya are at it?" Anastasia asked, turning her head to Nero slightly. He pressed his lips together thoughtfully, but shook his head.

"Right in the central hall." Pietor said, from his spot on the couch.

"Out in the open?" Anastasia asked, like he was insane.

"Do you really think there will be anyone there? Trust me; they'll have other problems to think about at the time." Pietor said, sitting up. Drake got up as well, tail wagging.

Anastasia let out a low _hmmm _as she turned back to look at it, as Nero seemed deep in thought.

"Where else are you going to go?" Pietor asked "Everywhere else will be blocked off to get out of, by the time we're finished.

"Yes, I suppose." Anastasia admitted grudgingly.

Drake went over to her at the sound of a concerned voice and put his paws up on her legs to sniff at her face. She patted him, but pushed the dog back down. Pietor motioned Drake back over to him.

"Why do you have him inside?" Anastasia asked, wiping off her hands "It's not cold out right now."

"Do you want me to keep him shut up all day? That's kind of rude." Pietor said, raising his eyebrows.

"He can be outside, without being in his kennel." Anastasia replied, with an _it's so obvious_ tone in her voice.

"No, watch." Pietor got up and called Drake over with him. He opened the door and put the dog out. Then he leaned against the wall next to the door, arms folded.

"What?" Anastasia asked. Pietor put a finger to his lips.

A few seconds later, the dog started whining and barked at the door. Pietor gave a know-it-all look at his sister. She rolled her eyes.

"So I thought I'd spare you that while you're studying." he said, opening the door again. The dog trotted in, circling around Pietor "Come on, Drake. Upstairs."

Pietor ran up the long steps along his dog. Anastasia smiled after him, with a slight shake of her head. His phone went off from the couch and she leaned over to get it.

"Iliana." she read from the phone.

"Iliana?" Raven asked, tilting her head. Nero and Darkdoom looked at her.

Anastasia waved a hand. "It's his partner from work." she said, with a slight smile.

"Oh." Raven nodded.

"Still….." Anastasia narrowed her eyes playfully "It might be fun to see their conversation."

Nero glanced at her again, while Darkdoom and Raven seemed to lean forward.

"Alright. Here goes." Anastasia said.

**Iliana**: _What you doing?_

**Pietor**: _Lying down on a couch. Ever tried it?_

**Iliana**: _You are grumpy. _

**Pietor**: _I was trying to sleep._

**Iliana**: _I'm sorry._

**Iliana**: _What you doing now?_

**Pietor**: _*Sigh* same thing. :-P_

**Iliana**: _You little traitor._

**Pietor**: _Traitor?_

**Iliana**: _:-) _

**Pietor**: _What are you talking about?_

**Iliana**: _You're the one housing those two Convit prisoners Gabdin caught. You're the one who led the attack on the base. Don't tell me you're not. _

Anastasia glanced up at them, eyes wide.

"What did he say?" Nero asked, flicking between her and the phone.

**Pietor**: _Uh huh. How do you know that?_

"Pietor what are you doing!" Anastasia exclaimed quietly.

**Iliana**: _I saw you. Gabdin told me he captured them that night._

**Pietor**: _I didn't see you there._

**Iliana**: _I know I was hidden. You took them on your ship with Anastasia. That woman looked hurt pretty_ _bad._

**Pietor**: _She was._

"Thanks for making me sound so tough, Pietor." Raven muttered.

**Iliana**: _Is she okay?_

**Pietor**: _No, we let her die._

**Pietor**: _Silly_

**Iliana: **_No, but seriously, is she okay? I mean, that looked bad, and you know Gabdin…_

**Pietor: **_You think? Ya she's fine._

"There you go." Darkdoom bumped Raven, who raised an eyebrow.

"I'm confused. Why is he telling another _Convit_ member?" Nero queried.

"I don't know. I'm just as confused."

**Iliana**: _What's her name?_

**Pietor**:_ That would be telling._

**Iliana**: _OK?...your names Pietor. Is that telling?_

**Pietor**: _Yes._

**Iliana**: _I so confused. Is it like a ninja secret or something?_

**Pietor**: _Or something._

**Iliana**: _I know who the other guy was._

**Pietor**:_ I bet you do._

**Iliana**: _It was Nero. He's the head of the organization the president wants control of. I think._

**Pietor**: _Maybe._

**Iliana**: _Are you like sworn to secrecy or something?_

**Pietor**: _Or something. :-)_

**Iliana**: _Why do you always say that?_

**Pietor**: _Remind me again why you're texting me._

**Iliana**: _You're going to the gathering, right?_

**Pietor**: _I have too._

**Iliana**: _There will be dancing. You should be excited.:) _

**Pietor**: _Hmmm_

**Iliana**:_ Are Anastasia and the others going?_

**Pietor**: _Anastasia probably. I don't really know about the others._

**Iliana**: _Dude, bring them. No one knows who they are except, you, me and Anastasia. Well, they don't_ _know the Convit captured them, anyway._

**Pietor**:_ Hmm…..there are teenagers here too._

**Iliana**: _Bring them! David will be there! Hello! That's like perfect!_

**Pietor**: _Yes I suppose it is._

**Iliana**: _And its casual dress._

**Pietor**: _Yea._

(Five minutes later)**Iliana**: _Did you ask?_

Anastasia looked up "That's the message she just sent."

"Okay, whoa. Is she working in the Convit? Because it sure doesn't sound like it." Raven said.

"She is. I know she is." Anastasia replied, scowling in confusion at the phone. Then she looked up.

"Pietor!" she called.

There was a softly muffled "Yeah?" in reply.

"Can you come down for a second?" she asked.

There was an irritated sound, but a few moments later Pietor appeared and walked down the steps.

"What?"

Anastasia waved his phone up for a second.

"You're touching my phone why?" he asked, coming over and snatching it.

"Iliana does work for the Convit, right?" Anastasia checked.

"Yes." Pietor answered slowly.

"Then why are you telling her that they're here?" Anastasia asked, gesturing at Nero and the others. "And it's not a good thing that she saw you taking them."

"What are you talking about?" Pietor asked, leaning his head forward "Iliana's on our side."

They are all went "Ohhhhhh" and let out relieved breaths.

"Phew!" Anastasia lay back against the couch.

"What? Did you think I was ditching you guys?" Pietor had a half-smile, half-scowl on his face.

"I had no idea." Anastasia said, shaking her head in solace.

"It was a little suspicious." Darkdoom said, with a smile.

"You shouldn't be looking at my text messages anyway." Pietor said, whacking his sister across the head.

"She texted you again." Anastasia ducked while saying this. She smiled up at him as he rolled his eyes and opened the text.

"Oh yea…." he pointed at Anastasia "You're going."

"Alright." she agreed.

"And if anyone else wants to go, you can." Pietor said, turning to look at the others "Kids can come. It's not really a formal theme."

"Oh I'm going." Raven said "I want to meet this Iliana."

"Why?" Pietor asked, tilting his head forward a bit.

"She sounds interesting. And I take it she wants to meet us. After the texts." Raven replied, flipping a finger at the phone.

"She's weird." Pietor nodded.

"She funny, because she really doesn't care what she says to people." Anastasia said. "It's total confidence. You guys should really come. It will be so fun."

"I'll be there." Raven said.

"It's alright with me." Nero said and Darkdoom nodded.

"Ooo-kay." Pietor texted Iliana back.

**Pietor**: _They are all coming._

After a few seconds there was a return text.

**Iliana**: _YES! 3_

"Well the students should be happy." Darkdoom said.

"Oh yea." Nero agreed.

"Anyone up for a walk?" Raven asked.

####

"So where are we going tomorrow?" Shelby asked, walking backwards in front of Dr. Nero.

"You could call it a dance, or a party." Nero replied, raising an eyebrow at her "Assuming you can behave, of course."

"When have I not behaved?" Shelby asked indignantly. Wing and Laura both scoffed quietly.

They walked along a wide path in the forest, a different one than Anastasia had taken them before. The Furans walked a few feet ahead of them, talking together.

"Have you ever noticed they walk in perfect synchronization?" Darkdoom asked, looking at the Furans feet.

It was true. The two of them lifted and stepped down with the same foot at the exact same time.

"Yeah and it's also funny that they're the same height." Raven said.

"You and Dr. Nero don't do that." Shelby said, looking at her. Nero and Raven glanced at each other, then the student.

"Is it because you're not the same height?" Darkdoom teased.

Nero smiled slightly and Raven narrowed her eyes. Darkdoom put up his hands innocently and stepped away.

The bushes rustled from a bit in front of them. Anastasia jumped at the sudden noise to her left and grabbed Pietor's arm. A squirrel ran up the tree, chattering loudly.

Pietor pulled his arm away slowly. "My, you're paranoid."

Anastasia watched the squirrel for a second, before glancing at him "Sorry, what?"

Pietor gave a smirk and a nod before continuing walking. Anastasia followed him after a second, pulling her white coat together.

After a little while more walking, Laura tilted her head. "Is that a creek I can hear?"

Raven listened for a second "Yeah. It is."

"Wouldn't it be frozen?" Shelby asked.

"It's….moving, Shelby. It won't freeze completely." Nero said, without looking at her.

Shelby stared at him for a second "Oh! I knew that. I did. I really did."

"I believe you." Nero replied, looking at her from the corner of his eyes.

"But don't go wading in it." Darkdoom advised.

"If you ask why, Shelby, I'll kill you." Raven said.

"I wasn't going too!" Shelby protested. "Geez, lady."

"Can we go see it?" Laura asked.

"Is that all you guys ever want to do? Move?" Nero asked in exasperation.

####

The water splashed up against the rocks, making them shine with slippery water. A few trees lay across the rushing water, wedged between rocks.

Anastasia, Laura, and Darkdoom looked rather content at the sight and sound of it.

"Can we try crossing?" Shelby asked.

"What did we just say?" Nero asked, giving her a scowl.

"What? You mean all the way…" Shelby pointed behind them "…back there?

"The water is freezing." Anastasia said, with an amused smile. "It's not exactly what you'd call smart."

"There are trees for crossing." Shelby said, gesturing a hand obviously.

"Slippery trees." Anastasia went on "What if you fell? What would we be able to do?"

"Hmm….." Shelby growled.

Anastasia smiled and looked around. She gasped.

"Pietor! Get off!"

Everyone turned quickly.

Pietor, having apparently heard none of their conversation, was out in the middle of the creek, walking across a log.

"Are you kidding? I just got done lecturing a _child _about the dangers of doing that!" Anastasia called, walking over to the end of his tree. "Get back here!"

"What?" Pietor asked over the sound of the creek.

"Pietor Furan! I know you can hear me!" Anastasia snapped. He smiled at her, one of his first real smiles they'd seen.

"Come back." she said, staring at him. Pietor scowled blankly and turned his head to the side.

"Come back!" Anastasia repeated louder. He shook his head and pointed to the other bank.

"No!" Anastasia said, growling under her breath. Pietor shrugged and turned anyway.

His sister covered her face with her hands, shaking her head. Raven seemed to be watching in fascination.

"Don't get any ideas." Nero muttered at her.

Pietor jumped up and down on the branch.

"Ah!" Anastasia put hands over eyes, and peeked through her fingers.

Pietor put his hands out with the _what_ look at her.

"Get off the tree and come back." she ordered.

He folded his arms.

"_Please_." Anastasia added.

"What's the worst case scenario?" Pietor asked, raising his voice so they could hear.

"You fall in and….._die_!" Anastasia said, scowling.

"Nah! At most I'd break a leg." came his reply.

"And we don't want that to happen." Anastasia said each word separately.

The assassin started walking back across the tree towards them.

"Don't fall." Anastasia closed one eye as he neared.

"He's probably been in worse situations than this." Darkdoom pointed out. She shot him a look and he smiled when she turned back.

Pietor's phone started ringing when he was about halfway.

"Don't you dare answer that!" Anastasia warned. "Whoever it is, they can wait."

"Hello?" Pietor said into his phone, sticking his tongue out at her. She squinted at him.

"Hi, Iliana." he said, continuing to walk. Anastasia closed her eyes.

"I'm scaring my sister right now." he went on, finally jumping down. There was a muffled yell from the speaker on the phone.

"Oh. Iliana says hi." Pietor informed his sister. Anastasia glared at him.

"Yes. I did finish the reports. I will send them to you when I get back." he continued to walk back down the way they had come "Okay. I am leaving right now. Goodbye."

The others followed him and Anastasia hit his arm. Pietor glanced at her.

"Oww?"

"What if you had fallen?" she asked crossly.

"But I didn't." he replied, with a small smile.

"You _could_ have."

"But I didn't. And here, I'll walk on _this side_." he gestured at the right side of her, closest to the tree line. "So when the mouse jumps out, you'll be OK."

**Go Pietor…Please Review! I can't wait until the dance scene! Might be some Nero and Raven "fluff" ish. And possibly Pietor…..we haven't met Iliana yet…..Click on the box right down there and write what is going through your head. ESPECIALLY GUESTS!**


	25. Getting Ready

**PLEASE Review!**

**(And I'm sorry, I know, this isn't the dance chapter) Next one!**

The next day, two thirtyish. The Furan's esteemed guests were sitting in the main room, waiting for the time to get "ready" for the dance, or so party.

"Can I have your phone?" Shelby asked Raven. The assassin glanced up skeptically.

"No. Why in the world would I let you have my phone?" Raven replied.

"Hey, I'm not the computer freak." Shelby defended herself and then turned to Laura "Genius. Sorry."

Laura raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything.

"I'm not going to break it." Shelby assured Raven "I just want to see it you have any music on it."

"I do." Raven informed her "There. Curiosity satisfied?"

"Really you do?" Shelby exclaimed "Lemme see!"

"When exactly did you become so brave? Or….stupid." Raven muttered the last part. "Why is it suddenly okay to grab at me?"

"It was sudden?" Shelby looked around "I thought we've been buddies for a while."

Raven shot her a look, eyes squinted and the student shrugged defensively.

Anastasia walked swiftly into the room from the west portion of the building. "Have you guys seen Pietor? He came back from work and disappeared."

Nero, Darkdoom, and Raven shook their heads and she continued with a big, exasperated breath to the bottom of the stairs. She ran up them and turned left toward her brother's room.

"Can I listen to your music?" Shelby asked, turning back to Raven.

"Why can't you be a good kid? Like Wing and Laura?" Raven asked, closing her eyes and tilting her head.

"I'm not being bad!" Shelby said indignantly, folding her arms "Why is it that everyone thinks I'm a juvenile delinquent?"

"Ooo! Ooo! Me!" Darkdoom raised his hand sarcastically "You attend H.I.V.E."

"So do they!" Shelby whipped a hand at Wing and Laura. Nero watched the conversation with amusement in his eyes.

"Yes, but they've proved less destructive." Raven explained to Shelby.

"What am I going to _do_ to your phone?" the student asked in protest.

Raven let out a half sigh, half growl and pulled out her phone for her. Shelby smiled.

"Now what do you want?" Raven asked.

"I just want to see your music." Shelby said quickly. The assassin flipped through stuff on her screen and finally gave the phone to the student.

Shelby flipped through piano songs on Raven's phone, beginning to scowl. "Do you _any_ good music?"

"It's all good music." Raven replied, knocking her across the head "I you want your kind of music, get out of my piano album."

"Oh." Shelby clicked out and got to another song.

"_We clawed, we chained our hearts in vain  
We jumped never asking why  
We kissed, I fell under your spell.  
A love no one could deny"_

"Out of everything, you chose Miley Cyrus?" Raven asked.

"She's awesome." Shelby said. Darkdoom, Nero and Raven turned their heads to look at her.

"Her _voice._" Shelby added. "That's what I meant."

"I hope so." Raven muttered.

"_Don't you ever say I just walked away  
I will always want you  
I can't live a lie, running for my life  
I will always want you"_

The door to the outside opened and a young-looking woman stepped in. Everyone sitting on the couches looked over. She jammed out to the music and shuffled over to the stairs.

"This music is _wicked_!" she exclaimed, closing her eyes and pumping her arms to the beat. Nero, Raven, and Darkdoom all gave each other a glance, before looking back over. Shelby was smiling in fascination. The woman cupped her hands around her mouth and leaned toward the stairs.

"Oh Furan man!" she called.

"_I put you high up in the sky  
And now, you're not coming down  
It slowly turned, you let me burn  
And now, we're ashes on the ground"_

"Who is that?" Laura asked quietly, to no one particularly. Whoever it was, they had plenty of confidence.

The woman had long caramel hair with dark highlights at the top. Her skin was a nice tan color and her eyes were a chocolate brown.

She turned to the group and waved happily. They slowly waved back, but she had mostly turned away already.

Anastasia sauntered down the stairs "Hi, Iliana." she smiled.

"Hey! Where is your brother?" the woman asked, twisting her hand so the palm faced the ceiling in a gesture of _why-isn't-he-down-here._

"He's coming." Anastasia patted her as she went by.

"_I came in like a wrecking ball  
I never hit so hard in love  
All I wanted was to break your walls  
All you ever did was wre-e-ck me"_

"He needs to huurrry." Iliana sang, spinning around.

"Did you even introduce yourself?" Anastasia asked, looking at the group then back at the young woman.

"Oh...no." Iliana replied, still twirling.

Anastasia let out a huffy breath. "Guys, this is Iliana."

Iliana waved again, walking over and putting an arm around Anastasia's shoulders, smiling.

"I know your face." she pointed at Nero "I saw your face." she pointed at Raven. "And everyone else, I have no idea." she gave a big smile.

Anastasia pressed her lips together in amusement and ducked away from Iliana's arm, going over to her chair. Shelby changed the song a couple times.

"Max." Nero offered his hand and Iliana shook it firmly.

"Hi. I'm Iliana, but you guys probably already know that from the vague clue Anastasia gave you." she tapped her chin, looking intently at Raven.

"I've heard of you."

Raven raised her eyebrows.

"You're…..Raven….right?" Iliana asked slowly.

The assassin nodded.

"His…." Iliana waved a hand at Nero thoughtfully "…hmm…how do I say this in a way that it won't be unkind….?" she looked at the ceiling for a moment "Protector….friend? Is that mean?" she looked at Anastasia, then back at Raven "Is that mean?"

"No. No you're good." Raven replied, with a small smile and a half glance at Nero, who smiled back.

"God, you're pretty." Iliana still hadn't looked away from Raven. The assassin's eyes flicked from side to side for a second, looking high-strung.

"Umm…..thank you?" she replied, looking nervous and hopeful that was the right answer.

Iliana leaned forward "What's wrong with you? That's a compliment."

Raven made a no comment sound.

"Man, if someone had said that to meeeeee. I would've been like insanely happy." Iliana said, looking around. She pointed at Darkdoom again.

"You are….?" Iliana asked him.

"Diablous." he shook her hand.

"Diablous." she echoed "Cool!"

"And this is Wing, Shelby, and Laura." Nero nodded at the students in turn.

"Hello, children." Iliana waved once again. "Ya'll are coming to the gathering tonight?"

"Yes. Yes we are." Nero replied for all of them.

"Sweet." she replied lowly. "But that all depends on if we're actually going to get there and if Pietor's ever going to come down!" she trudged back over to the bottom of the stairs.

"Yo Pietor!" she yelled. "I need to practice and I don't want to be late for tonight either!"

"I know! I know! I'm coming!" came Pietor's voice back.

Iliana shed her jacket and put it at the bottom of the stairs.

A second later, Pietor hurried down the stairs. He stuck out a tongue at Iliana.

"Hey man. You're slow." she greeted him.

"Shut up!" Pietor walked past her and she followed him.

"Are you guys…uh..." Anastasia tilted her head back so she could see them.

"Yes. We're training. Be back out in a bit." Pietor said, as he opened the door to the massive gymnasium.

"Training?" Darkdoom asked.

"Oh, Iliana's training to enter the Olympics." Anastasia told them "Pietor and her are partners at work, we have a huge training area, and he's kind of the obvious choice here, sooo….yes. They are training."

"The Olympics? That's…awesome." Shelby said.

**Yes the training room is the same one Raven was trained in…. :)**

**Please Review!**


	26. The Dance

Anastasia and the others walked out into the garage, except Pietor and Iliana, who had left early to go help set up at the dance.

"I am so excited!" Shelby squealed.

"I wonder if there will be cute guys there." Laura said back.

"Yeah, _that _would be amazing." Shelby elbowed Wing, who raised an eyebrow.

"Do you want to drive?" Anastasia asked Nero, swinging the ring of keys around on her finger. "I don't really like too, particularly in Pietor's truck."

"Sure." Nero replied, taking them.

"Can I drive?" Raven said, turning around.

Nero raised both eyebrows "Go ahead."

"Yes!" Raven grabbed the keys and went over to the driver's seat. Anastasia got in the passenger's side next to her.

"When was the last time you drove?" Darkdoom asked her from behind as everyone settled in.

"A little bit ago." Raven admitted "But it's all good. I remember." she scooted the seat forward so she was right up next to the steering wheel.

"Whoa." Anastasia slightly reached a hand forward "Why are you so close?"

Raven glanced at her. "This is how I've always driven."

"Why?" Anastasia asked, looking at the cramped space in which she was sitting.

Raven glanced all around herself "It's comfortable, and I have better control over the wheel."

"If you wrecked, that airbag would kill you." Anastasia said.

"That's why I don't wreck." Raven replied. Anastasia gave a nervous smile back at the group behind her as the assassin started the car.

"She just can't touch the pedals." Darkdoom said for her and smiled. Raven shot him a look, but didn't say anything.

"You're going to have to tell me how to get there." she said. Anastasia clicked the little screen on the panel of buttons in front of them.

A voice came from the speakers "_What is your intended destination?"_

"3476 Convit Building." Anastasia said to it. On the screen came a loading sign then a map appeared and there was a long orange arrow on it that pointed in the obvious direction they were supposed to go.

"There you are." Anastasia pulled on her seatbelt and snapped it into place.

###

There were several cars joining them as Raven pulled into parking lot. There were dozens of people walking into the doors that were extended with a long red awning.

"This looks like a lot of people." Raven commented.

"There will be more." Anastasia assured her. They hopped out of the car and started toward the building.

Iliana and another woman rushed around, stamping every ones hands. She spotted them and hurried over. One her face she had a glittering purple heart with little shining gray fireworks.

"Welcome! Welcome! Welcome!" she grabbed all the students hands first and quickly stamped them. "There is food inside. We're going to start dancing soon, so get in there and have fun!"

"Have you seen Pietor?" Anastasia asked her as she finished stamping.

Iliana glanced behind her swiftly "Yeah! He was in the building."

"That's very helpful." Anastasia replied.

"Well sorry, there's kind of a lot of people in there!"

"I'll say." Anastasia agreed and the group continued inside.

Music played loudly from the speakers and people were walking around, finding seats and getting food.

Anastasia scanned the crowd, looking for her brother. Pietor was talking to another man, a little shorter than him, and with dark brown hair. She waved and he pointed at a table a few feet from his left. She nodded and they walked over.

"I'll be right back." Anastasia said after they sat down. She went over to her brother.

"We should get some food." Shelby said. Laura shook her head.

"Nah, I don't want any."

"Come on!" Shelby asked.

"I'll go with you, Trinity." Raven said, standing up "We can search the joint out."

Shelby looked satisfied as the two of them went over to the food section.

Pietor and Anastasia came back over to sit.

"Is this all the _members_ of the Convit?" Nero asked, looking at the people still flooding in, eyes a bit wide.

"Oh no!" Pietor waved a hand "We invite everyone to come so that we can…..broaden our variety in the Convit." he twirled his finger in a circle "Supposedly."

Nero smiled without turning around.

"Will there be other teenagers here?" Laura asked.

"There should be lots." Anastasia said, looking around.

Several people came up and congratulated Pietor as they filled the place up.

"It's like they think it's a _good _thing_." _he said.

"It is a good thing!" Anastasia told him, smiling "Be happy!"

There were some yells from the door to the hallway next to them. All heads turned to look and a man with very dark hair ran out, arms in the air, with a whole bunch of teenagers following.

Then song switched and the lights changed colors so the room was darker. The multicolored lights flashed in their direction every few seconds. **(Please use your imagination a lot for this part)**

The man led the children through the maze of tables until they were up on the dance floor. The music blared from the speakers.

"_Teenage dreams in a teenage circus!  
Running around like a clown on purpose!  
Who gives a damn about the family you come from?  
No givin' up when you're young and you want some!"_

"_Running around again!  
(Running around again)  
Running from running!"_

"_Waking up in the midday sun!  
What's to live for?!  
You could see what I've done!  
Staring at emotion!  
In the light of day!  
I was running from the things that you'd say!"_

They ran around in a circle arms flying. The man in the lead sang the words with a microphone piece on his face. The kids would yell with him at the chorus.

_"We are not what you think we are!  
We are golden, we are golden!  
We are not what you think we are!  
We are golden, we are GOLDEN!"_

At that time all the teens would jerk their arms at the audience. One of them unrolled a sign that read:

"We are Golden! Children rule!"

Nero and Darkdoom watched silently, eyebrows raised. Anastasia was smiling and Pietor stared at the man, slowly shaking his head in amused-_what-the-hell ._It was clear they both knew the leader of the teenagers.

After a few more minutes of that, the dance floor exploded with colorful sparks, the kids all hit the floor, and the room plunged into darkness.

The people hesitated a second, before breaking out into a loud applause. The lights slowly came back on and everyone stood up, clapping.

"Thank you for watching and have a wonderful night!" the man shouted.

The kids and him ran off the stage.

"David." Pietor muttered, turning back around in his seat. Anastasia smiled again, shaking her head as she gazed at her brother.

"That was eventful." Darkdoom muttered to Nero, who nodded at him.

"That was David." Anastasia explained to them "He's the guy who entertains the children who have Convit parents and really…anyone else. He loves kids and he kind of believes they should be a little rebellious."

"And he teaches them that?" Nero asked. Anastasia tipped her head back and forth.

"Somewhat. He's a funny guy so….." she shrugged.

Iliana came through the door, looked around for a couple seconds and quickly came over to the table, smiling "Hey!"

"What's up?" Pietor asked.

"Nothing. I just got tired of stamping." Iliana said.

"There are still people coming in." Anastasia pointed out "Shouldn't you be stamping still?"

"Is that your way of telling me to leave?" Iliana asked, with a bob of her eyebrows.

"No. Just wondering." Anastasia replied.

"Hi, children!" Iliana waved happily at Wing and Laura. They waved back slowly.

"You saw that awesome performance with David and those kids?" she asked "You guys and the other one…" she looked around until she spotted Shelby with Raven "Aw! That one! With the one chick who has problems being complimented."

"She has a name." Pietor told her.

"Yeah, I know. Raven or somewhat." Iliana said, waving a hand.

"You can call her Natalya." Nero said to her.

"Oh fetch, pretty name too. What is with this girl?" Iliana shook her head "Dang. Anyway." she looked back at the students "You guys can totally go and hang out with them. They are awesome."

"Is that your way of telling them to leave?" Anastasia asked sarcastically, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"No! I'm being nice!" Iliana replied, with a good-natured tongue stick-out.

"Yeah, jeez, Ann." Pietor muttered, with an amused glance at Iliana. She gave him the same look.

"I'm just saying." she said.

The crowd around the doors was thinning down a bit more as people were taking their seats.

Shelby was coming back over. "Wow. I couldn't pronounce _anything_ over there. Raven had to freaking guide me with everything! Russian desserts are _weird_!"

"What did you get?" Nero asked, looking at her with a half-amused scowl.

"Something with chocolate and something with caramel and something with something else on it." Shelby held up a pudding cup type thing.

"Ah! Don't eat that!" Pietor said, quickly. Anastasia looked at it and Iliana pointed a finger in breathy laughter.

"What?" Shelby asked, glancing at it.

"That's a pudding shot. You don't want that." Anastasia struggled not to smile "It's ninety-five percent alcohol."

Shelby gaped and set the cup back on the table. Nero turned and looked back at Raven who was still at the other table.

"Dr. Nero, please tell me you're going to pummel her!" Shelby asked indignantly. "She gave that to me on _purpose_!"

"You did say you wanted to try it at the safe house." Darkdoom pointed out, smiling. Nero turned back, shaking his head.

"You need to _pummel_ her!" Shelby said. "Now I don't even trust this other stuff."

"The rest is all fine." Anastasia assured her, but the student gazed at it untrustingly.

As they spoke, the man same man, who had been leading the children came over to their table. He put two hands on Anastasia's shoulders, letting out a deep breath. "What's all fine?"

She looked up "The dessert."

Pietor watched him from the corner of his eye "Get...your hands off… my sister."

Anastasia slapped her brother's leg playfully.

"Gosh, you're grumpy." David said, releasing Anastasia.

"I know right! He's a freaking stick in the mud tonight." Iliana said. Pietor grunted.

"Anyone would think I was creepin' on your sister." David said, smiling and pulling up his own chair.

"Are you?" Pietor asked.

"No. Was I being creepy Anastasia?" David asked her.

She shook her head "Not to me."

"Exactly." David turned to Darkdoom, and offered his hand "I'm David."

Darkdoom accepted it "Diablous."

David smiled and turned to Nero, who also shook hands.

"Max."

"Nice to meet you." David nodded.

"You recognize him right?" Iliana asked. He glanced at her.

"Should I?" he looked back at Nero.

"Oh my God, Nero. The prisoner who escaped! It was _you_!" David pointed a finger at Pietor.

"Yes, me." Pietor nodded with mock pride.

"And then you replaced Gabdin." David clapped his hands "That's ironic."

"Wait what?" Anastasia waved her hands "How do you know him?" she gestured at Nero "I am so confused."

"I'm the second counselor. I kind of know what goes on. Gabdin captured him." David said, with a wry smile.

Anastasia shook her head "But…."

"David is….helping us as well." Pietor said, with a glance at her.

She looked back at David for a second, than smiled and shook her head. "So you have the first _and_second counselor in the presidency planning against the Convit?"

"Yes." Pietor said and David gave her a thumbs up.

"But….shhhh…." David put a finger to his lips.

"I just don't understand why they didn't move _you _up to first counselor and leave _me_ down." Pietor said, slapping David's arm.

"Cause I take care of the children and they love me, so I couldn't leave them." David replied, with a smile.

"You do not take care of them, you _entertain_ them." Pietor corrected.

"Not much of a difference." David replied, still smiling. "By the way, who's your friend?" he pointed a thumb behind him at Raven. "You guys came in with her."

"Natalya." Pietor said. David nodded and turned towards her.

"Oh no." Pietor covered his mouth "I just set her up."

Nero and Darkdoom were both smiling and watching David go up to Raven.

"Yeah you did!" Iliana patted his shoulders, laughing. He shook his head.

"She should have a guy hit on her." Shelby said "I hope it makes her uncomfortable."

Everyone at the table glanced at her and she put her hands up "What! She just tried to get me drunk!"

"That she did." Nero muttered, shaking his head.

"Raven's coming back!" Laura sang as the assassin came over. She set down her plate.

"Guys, I just had a really….confident guy…come up and introduce himself to me." she said, looking a little confused still.

They shared a laugh for a second.

"What?" Raven asked sharply, looking around at all of them.

"That's David. The second counselor in the Convit." Anastasia explained, smiling.

"He was kind of eying you from over here." Darkdoom said.

"Then Pietor gave him your name." Iliana told her, still holding in laughter.

"Why?" Raven snapped at him.

"He asked. You need to be kind." Pietor said, matter of factly. "David's a nice guy."

"I wasn't saying he was mean." Raven exclaimed "He was actually….really attractive." she admitted with a final smile.

Iliana's jaw dropped and she clapped excitedly.

"No!" Raven pointed a stern finger at her "Don't get all girly on me. I only said he was cute."

"Cute?" Anastasia half-squealed. Pietor looked at her.

"No! Maybe…I don't know." Raven scratched her head.

"Where'd he go?" Pietor asked, looking around.

"I don't know. Out the door." Raven replied, waving a hand. Darkdoom looked at her a little mischievously, eyes narrowing.

"I think someone's a little love struck." he said.

"I am not!" Raven rebuked him instantly. She glared at him.

"Okay. Okay! I believe you." Darkdoom said, grinning.

The lights around the room suddenly dimmed to a gentle glow from the disco ball. A man's voice came over the speaker.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I am going to ask everyone to grab a partner so we can get this party started."

There was quiet collaborating between the groups in the room as people grabbed others of the opposite sex. Soft piano music started playing.

Iliana stood up "Come on, Pietor."

He looked at the table, tiredly "But I'm already having so much fun."

She grabbed his hand, pulled him up and over to the dance floor.

Anastasia smiled and shook her head slightly at them. Darkdoom went over and offered a hand out to her, eyes amused. She took it and they walked to the floor where dozens of other couples were now gathering.

Nero and Raven turned their heads and looked at each other. They both laughed softly after a second, before Nero stood up, hands clasped behind his back.

"Natalya. Would you like to dance?"

Raven dropped her head, before looking back up, eyes sparkling. "Of course, Max."

Nero held out his hand and escorted her out to the floor.

In just a few minutes everyone was dancing vigorously with their partner.

Pietor spun Iliana around and she smiled as her shirt frilled and they came back together. He almost smiled fully back, but shook his head at her as she laughed. They swayed back and forth, weaving between people.

Nero and Raven both seemed to be enjoying themselves, smiling as they frisked away together.

The music leaped up in intensity and the men lifted the women up in the air. The girls all let out happy "whoos" as they did so, laughing as they continued dancing.

Wing, Shelby, and Laura were watching in fascination. A few teenagers were dancing together, but a lot were standing around the food tables, socializing.

"Iliana's really pretty." Shelby said, wistfully.

"She is." Laura agreed.

"I mean the caramel hair. It's the perfect color!" Shelby gazed at her from across the room.

"Look at Dr. Nero and Raven." Laura said, eyes going into that girly "_aww….." _look.

Shelby smiled, but grimaced "That's weird. She's his assassin, it-"

"Dancing with one another doesn't claim two people to be in love." Wing pointed out, with a slight frown.

"I know, Fanchu. I'm just saying….." Shelby turned back to look at the dozens of couples.

The song ended a second later and everyone broke apart, clapping. The same man came over the speaker again.

"Now, everyone collaborate in your own groups and everyone must have a different partner."

All the people split up to find each other. Anastasia went with Nero, Iliana went with Darkdoom, and Pietor and Raven stared at each other.

"Don't make this awkward." Raven said, smiling smartly.

"I'm not the awkward one." Pietor replied, with a cheeky raise of his eyebrows.

Raven squeezed his shoulder with her hand, eyes challenging. His hand slid around her waist, still looking amused.

"You're a little short." he said, as they started to twirl.

"No, you're just really tall." Raven replied.

"Fine. We are both a little over and under average. Fair?"

Raven grunted "I suppose."

Pietor almost seemed to be gazing elsewhere as they danced, eyes narrowing every few seconds. When he lifted Raven up, he almost smiled.

"My word! You could be my paper weight." he said, shaking his head.

"Shut up!" Raven growled.

Pietor spun her.

Nero did the same to Anastasia, who seemed to be acting more of a woman than Raven. She smiled in excitement every time he twirled or lifted her up in the air.

"Do you dance often?" she asked Nero "You seem like a professional."

"Often enough." Nero replied, with a wry smile.

When that song ended, everyone grabbed different partners and a Christmas song came on.

"_La la la la la…._

_I'm wishing on a star_

_And trying to believe_

_That even though it's far_

_He'll find me Christmas Eve"_

Anastasia found her brother and grabbed him. Pietor smiled and slightly shook his head as she wrapped her arms around his neck and laid against his chest. He swayed back and forth with her at the soothing music and she smiled in contentment.

"_The best time of the year!_

_When everyone comes home_

_With all this Christmas cheer!_

_It's hard to be alone…"_

Iliana and Nero were now together, her hands on his shoulders and his hands on her waist. Everyone in the room danced slow and gently, changing the mood.

"_Presents for the children_

_Wrapped in red and green_

_All the things I've heard about_

_But never really seen"_

"_No one will be sleeping on_

_The night of Christmas Eve_

_Hoping Santa's on…. his way!"_

_###_

**7:30 pm that night**

The group had settled down at their table, listening to the now jazzy music playing. A couple people still danced on the floor, but it was mostly empty.

"Should we all go to my house?" Iliana asked "I've got homemade hot chocolate there."

"Oh god, yes." Anastasia glanced at her "Do you know how good that sounds?"

"Pretty dang good." Raven agreed.

"Then we can talk without a crowd around us." Iliana said, standing up.

"That is, if you can get the men to stop talking about economies." Anastasia jutted a thumb back at the four men together.

Nero, Darkdoom, Pietor, and David all sat at the table next them, holding out hands and explaining their view on things. Every once in a while two of them would get into a rather heated argument, particularly Darkdoom and Pietor.

"Just tell them we're leaving and they'll come." Iliana said, going over.

She put her hands down on their table "Hey, fella's, we're going to my house."

They glanced up at her, before standing up, while still discussing things and pushing in their chairs.

"Nice." Anastasia said, nodding. Pietor walked over and him and Iliana walked out together to her car.

"See you guys there!" David called as he also left.

"Well that was fun." Darkdoom said, as Anastasia grabbed her coat from the chair. She nodded as she came back over.

"Mind you, I think Pietor was a little annoyed when we switched partners." Nero said in amusement.

"What do you mean?" Anastasia asked.

"Well when I was dancing with Iliana, he was watching us like a hawk." Nero told her.

"Yeah me too, now that you mention it." Darkdoom said.

"I thought he seemed a bit out of it." Raven added.

Anastasia's smile was huge "Really?"

Nero nodded "It was kind of funny, because I think Iliana noticed too and she put on a big show for him."

Anastasia laughed quietly "Oh boy. I can just totally see those two together, but Pietor won't budge."

"You mean he doesn't like her?" Darkdoom asked.

"Oh I'm pretty sure he does, but he always denies it." Anastasia shook her head, grinning "Oh, my boy."

**It….is…over. This took me so long to write so I expect LONG reviews and a lot of them too. Over the WHOLE chapter. Thank you for reading and I hope you like it. I hope it isn't too quick**


	27. Pipsqueak

**Iliana- I will explain more about her in this chapter.**

**David- A very friendly guy. He loves children and works for the Convit (obviously) He is the second counselor for the president. The only reason he is turning against the Convit is to help the Furans. He really cares about kids….Oh and he is like Pietor's best friend.**

**Please Review. Yes, I am obsessed with reviews, I know it. Please rub it in.**

Raven pulled up behind David's car next to the large, rather quaint house. The engine quieted and everyone in the car hopped out.

"Why is her house so huge? She is single…..right?" Darkdoom asked.

Anastasia nodded "Yes, but it's Iliana." she shrugged "She doesn't really have reasons for doing things."

"I'll say." Darkdoom commented.

"I am excited for hot chocolate!" Shelby said.

####

"Mmmm….." Shelby sipped the steaming hot chocolate with a look of contentment.

"Good, yes?" Iliana asked, with a big smile. The student nodded eagerly. The group was sitting in Iliana's living room, sampling the drink. Pietor was next to Anastasia and Iliana, Nero and Raven sat together, the students, than Darkdoom and David, who seemed to have hit it off very well. There was also a light gray cat sitting next to the fireplace, which was Iliana's.

"You make this by yourself?" Laura asked.

"No. I put the ingredients together, than I dump them in a crock pot to cook it. Really the pot made it for you." Iliana said with a shrug.

"But you have no human help, is what she's asking." David said.

"Well no dur." Iliana made a mock stupid face, walking back into the kitchen to the set the tray down.

"Just checking!" he said with a teasing smile.

"It's really chocolaty." Anastasia said, also sipping her drink "I don't know how you do that. I've tried making it and it did not turn out this good."

"I don't know. I just throw chocolate, milk, cream, and then at the end, a whole bunch of little chocolate chips." Iliana replied with a shrug. "There's always seconds if you want them."

A couple minutes later, Shelby sat up really straight and glanced at Raven. "Oh, by the way. Why exactly were you trying to get me drunk on that pudding alcohol thingie?"

Nero turned to look at her "Yes, actually, that is something I would very much like to know myself."

"She didn't actually eat it." Raven said, with a nervous smile. Nero narrowed his eyes ever so slightly. Iliana was giving Raven a thumbs up, unseen by Nero.

"What? I knew you guys would stop her." Raven defended herself. "Although it would have been funny to see her taste it…"

Nero just shook his head at her.

"Anyway, Shelby, I saw you talking to a couple of guys over by the speakers." Raven said, changing the subject. "Who were they?"

"Mark and Tiler." Shelby replied "But I wouldn't be talking about me." she elbowed Laura "Brand over here was a real flirt."

"What?" Laura looked up.

"Uh huh." Shelby nodded.

"Wait with who?" David asked, leaning forward and smiling.

"Michael." Shelby smiled as well.

"I was not flirting with him." Laura objected.

"No actually they were talking about molecular astronomy." Wing said "I believe so anyway."

"Ha! Nerds." Shelby said.

"He was_ really _nice." Laura added, ignoring her friend "And smart."

"He is." David nodded enthusiastically. "And?..."

"And what? I'm not going to see him again so…"

"You _could_." David told her "Tuesday. There's a party for the teenagers. My place. You three could totally come."

Laura brightened and glanced at Nero, who gave her a thumbs up. Her and Shelby clapped in excitement. Wing's face didn't change except a slight raise of his eyebrows.

"Great." David agreed.

Nero looked over at Raven, surprised to find her staring at David, eyes a little dreamy.

"How did you ever work with Gabdin as the first counselor?" Pietor asked him. "I couldn't stand him and I was with him every two days. You were with him every two seconds."

David shrugged "You learn to ignore him."

"How could you? He was always up in your face, giving orders and criticizing everything you do!" Pietor said "And he was too lazy to get up and do the work himself."

"Exactly." Iliana agreed, then covered her mouth "Whoops. I guess I'm not supposed to say anything bad about him."

"Why not?" Raven asked "For what I can tell and what I've heard, nobody liked him."

"He's my step-father." Iliana said, looking down at the floor.

"Ohhhh…" Raven looked like she instantly regretted her words.

"But you cannot hold that against me!" Iliana said, pointing a finger at them "I didn't like him anymore than the rest of you. Pietor did me a favor."

"Yes I did." Pietor said.

"So did you have a relationship with him?" Darkdoom asked. Iliana shook her head.

"No way! I'm pretty sure the only reason I'm not dead is because I _was_ his step-daughter. He was a real mean dude. In fact, he even had me captured one time so that it could look good that he saved me, but the people who he paid wouldn't let me go. But the people he hired were actually really nice so it wasn't like I was in real danger." Iliana shook her head.

"What, but what happened?" Nero asked "Did you escape?"

"Nope. If Gabdin couldn't do something, who do you think he went too?" she jerked a thumb at the veteran assassin next to her.

Pietor nodded.

"So he came and got me and Gabdin was all pissed that he didn't get to take the glory." Iliana said.

"But he didn't do anything." Raven exclaimed.

"Exactly." Pietor agreed "But you know, that's how it is. _'I can't do this. Pietor!'_" he looked at Anastasia.

"I have never….." Anastasia faded off, then rolled her eyes "Well I haven't done it lately."

"Lately." Pietor agreed.

"And that….is why you're first counselor!" Anastasia said happily.

####

**(I didn't really have a great pick up for this part so….sorry. I hope it isn't too poorly written)**

"They seem so nice." Darkdoom said, glancing behind his shoulder.

The group had rather dispersed later that night. The Furans, Iliana, David, and a few more people that had come over, were all over at the dinner table, playing a game that seemed close to poker, but without the coins. Others that were there, sat in the kitchen and in the front room. The students were next to the fireplace, talking and stroking the cat. Nero, Raven, and Darkdoom had gotten onto a discussion about the Furans again.

"But I want to know what happened." Raven insisted "It's not one day you're hoarding children and the next day you're all warm and friendly. Or _friendlier_."

"Maybe they just changed everything." Darkdoom said "It's not like their style of life was very happy. Why wouldn't they change it?"

"What happened to all the children?" Nero said, looking up at him "That's what I want to know. I mean clearly they're different, but it's not as simple as that. Will they still be our enemy once the Convit is gone?"

"They're not our enemy right now, so it won't be different then." Darkdoom replied. "They've kept to themselves all this time. Why would they want to hurt us?"

"I don't know, I just have a feeling we don't know everything." Raven said.

"Do you want them to give us every detail of their life?" Darkdoom asked.

"Maybe we can ask Iliana…." Nero ventured "Or David. They're bound to know something."

"Max, they're their friends." Darkdoom pointed out irritably "They probably don't know anything about what the Furans used to do."

"You never know." Nero said. "I want to ask one of them the next time they go by."

And they did. After casually talking together for about a half hour, Iliana walked by to grab something from the kitchen as the others reset the game again.

"Hey, Iliana?" Nero said.

She turned "Yea?"

"Can I have a word?"

Iliana's eyebrow furrowed for a second "Sure." she smiled slightly "Careful, Pietor's in the room."

Nero smiled and nodded. She sat down next to them. You had to get a little closer to hear eachother over the noise of other people talking.

"What can I do for ya?"

"How long have you known the Furans?" Nero began, hands pressing together at the fingertips.

"Umm…..well personally….about ten years." she replied.

"So do you know….that they….." Nero seemed to be struggling with how to put his next words.

"Do I know that they used to train children at their place?" Iliana asked, tilting her head. All three of the people watching her looked surprised.

"Yes, I do. Is that your question?"

Nero nodded, slightly biting his lip. Raven looked at her with interest.

"What would you like to know?" Iliana asked "I mean I don't really know how…or…."

"No, no that's fine." Nero said "Do you know when they stopped or…..what happened to that?"

Iliana stared at him for a long second "You don't know?"

Nero gave a small confused scowl. "What do you mean?"

"Well I thought since they invited you here, that you were close friends because they don't usually do that, but….You really don't know what happened eight years ago?"

Nero shook his head. "What was it?"

Iliana glanced back "They're really sensitive about it. I don't want to let them know I'm telling you.

"Please?" Nero asked "I'd really appreciate it."

"Well…alright…Anastasia-"

"Hey Iliana! You still playing?" Pietor called, from the dining room. They were dealing out cards and waiting for her to come back over.

"Uhh….nah...I think I'm good for this round!" she called back, turning back to Nero and Raven.

Pietor leaned back a bit to look, eyes narrowing at Nero ever so slightly, unseen by everyone. He then sat back up and continued playing. **(Uh oh…)**

Iliana took a deep breath and glanced at the mingling people around her.

"So about ten years ago, two years after the Convit first started and stuff, Pietor was working for them right? Well they were still training children then and still had a whole bunch. Essentially they were going to use them to work for the Convit, because then, it was still a good organization." she paused a second "You know they had a younger sister, right?"

Nero nodded. "Elena."

"Yeah. She died young and really, that's the whole reason they started training kids like they did. I mean, if you knew them." she paused again "They were really close siblings so when she died, it kind of tore them apart. For a while, from people's point of view, they were pretty heartless and cold, but they weren't really. They were just desensitized to the world. Anastasia particularly."

"So do you know what happened?" Raven asked "What made them snap out of it?"

"Well…." Iliana looked down for a second.

"What?" Nero asked.

"They'd been having a rough time and Anastasia…she…attempted suicide. While Pietor was at work."

Nero's eyes widened and Darkdoom and Raven gasped involuntary. Iliana nodded.

"It was bad, and if you know Pietor, that absolutely scared him out of his wits. I was right there when he got the call. The guards had found her and luckily got her to a medic fast enough. Pietor took charge and completely shut down all operations. He stopped the guards preparations for attack and defense, he sent all the kids to rehab in the Convit, everything."

Nero glanced at Raven, then back at Iliana. "And what did he do for Anastasia?"

"No one really knows. No one saw them for six months." Iliana said "Everyone had kept telling him to put her in rehab, put her in rehab, but he told them no every time, saying that was not what she needed. And he must've been right, because now look at her. She's back to normal. Happy and healthy, and even better than she was before."

"Do you have any idea what he could have done?" Darkdoom asked.

"When I asked him what had made her do what she did, Pietor told me that she just needed a break. And since then, they stopped with the training, and they're….happy." Iliana said.

Nero let out a long breath, looking back at his two friends.

"And you know what?" Iliana said, gazing at them with soft eyes "They're not bad people. They've had a hard start and made some bad decisions, but they're really not. Anastasia's really kind, but tough and Pietor's just Pietor. He might be grumpy, but he's really a nice guy. And an assassin, so you can't expect him to be lovey-dovey." she smiled.

They turned to look at Anastasia, who was laughing and smiling with everyone at the table.

Iliana nodded happily. "They're doing good."

####

**Late that night, when they are headed home.**

Anastasia scrubbed her brother's head with her hands, excitedly, making it stick up as they walked toward his truck. Pietor ran a hand through it and flattened it back down.

"Ope, I saw a small smile." she said.

"Nope."

"I did too."

"Hmmmm…"

Nero and the others walked beside them and Shelby turned around to start walking backwards in front of them.

"I am so _freaking _excited for the teenager party on Tuesday!" she squealed "No grown-ups, no supervision, no-"

"David will be there." Anastasia pointed out. Shelby deflated thoughtfully at that.

"Oh Ann, be serious. The kid's right. There may be an adult, but there will be no supervision." Pietor said.

"Doesn't that worry anyone?" Nero asked, with a nervous smile. Anastasia smiled, but didn't have a reply.

"Don't you trust me?" Shelby asked, putting a hand to her chest pledgingly.

"Nope. Okay, Wing." Raven put a hand on his shoulder "You're in charge of her while you're there."

Shelby looked at her offendedly. Wing nodded.

They climbed into the car and Pietor grunted.

"Oh…..goodness." he barely squeezed between the seat and steering wheel. He pulled the level to slide the seat far back. It clicked into place. "Who drove this?"

"I did." Raven said.

Pietor just closed his eyes and shook his head real quick, before putting in the keys.

"What?" Raven exclaimed.

"You're a pipsqueak." Pietor turned on the radio as she gaped at him.

**First off, I was listening to Mah Na Mah Na from the Muppets and **_**CRACKING UP**_**! I suggest you go listen to it! It is sooooo Pietor! At 45 seconds is the best thing in the universe!**

**I really hope you like it! Took me all day! I hope it wasn't too fast!**

**Is Pietor jealous of Nero for being with Iliana?**

**PLEASE review! Over the WHOLE chapter! LIKIE? :D LOVE You ALL!**


	28. How Close Are We Pietor?

**I know some don't like David cause he gets in the way of Naven. There is a little Naven in my story, but not a ton. I don't know yet so don't complain! I do my best! :)**

**Warning: These next few chapters probably won't be all that progressive. I am filling in until the teenager's party and they will mostly just be entertaining. :) **

Shelby picked up Laura's book next to her friend's bed and flipped it open. She started going slowly through the book, not really reading, so much as looking. Laura sat up and snatched it back.

"What? I was just looking at it." Shelby said, under her breath.

"You always tease me about what I read." Laura replied, tucking the book under her pillow. This was going to be the last time her friend woke her up in the morning if she had anything to say about it "What time is it?"

Shelby rolled over and looked at the clock. "Seven forty-five."

"Why did you wake me up to early?" Laura grumbled, flopping back down. "We got back late last night and you come in and jump on me at seven."

"Let's face it. When I'm somewhere besides H.I.V.E. now, I'm too curious to sleep."

"No you just have no reason to sleep. At school, you sleep in, because you don't want to go to class."

"That actually is pretty true. If I don't have to get up, then I wake up early. It sucks." Shelby rolled all the way off the bed. "I didn't want to go wake up Wing, cause he….."

"He needs the sleep?" Laura asked scathingly. Honestly, at H.I.V.E., she literally had to pull her friend out of bed, but here, where they actually needed the sleep, she woke up earlier than ever!

"You're so grumpy in the morning." Shelby complained.

"Am I? Really? You think so?"

"Do you want to go downstairs? We can sit in the main room until others wake up." Shelby suggested.

"Yes." Laura slid out of bed "That sounds good."

Shelby smiled and the walked out the door alongside her friend. They hopped down the steps.

"You know what I want to see?" she asked when they were at the bottom. It was completely silent.

"Do you find it weird that Anastasia was awake so early that one morning?" Laura wondered, ignoring her question.

"Kind of, if you think about it, but it doesn't really matter." Shelby said "It's her house."

"I guess."

"What's your problem? You're being so ser-"

The side door swung open and both the girls looked over. Drake trotted in and then Pietor. The dog went over to them, tail swaying and Laura grimaced. Pietor shut the door, pulling the keys out of the lock and sliding them into his pocket. "Drake! Come here."

The husky pattered back over to him and he looked up at the girls, scowling slightly.

"What are you two doing up so early?"

_Don't give him any reason to suspect you were doing something bad. We weren't._ Said a small voice in Shelby's head. _Be confident._

"I don't know, we just woke up." she replied "We were just going to wait for everyone else to get up."

Pietor stared at them for a second. "Yeah." he turned and walked over to the couches. Drake went up to Shelby, pawing at the air. She rubbed his head with a hand. Both of the girls seemed unsure what to do now, since Pietor had come in.

After a second, Shelby, feeling daring, asked "Can we go in there?" she pointed at the training room behind them.

Damn you, Shelby.

Pietor glanced up, and scowled.

"Why?" he asked, grouchily.

"I don't know, for fun. Wouldn't it be nice to have us somewhere where we could be contained?" Shelby asked innocently, eyes gleaming a bit.

_I would love to knock some sense into this girl_ Pietor thought.

"Look, I don't know if bribing works on Dr. Nero, but is sure as hell doesn't work on me." he replied.

Shelby sighed through her nose. "That wasn't bribery."

"Yes." Pietor came and leaned over her "I think it was."

Shelby slipped out from under his looming shadow "It really wasn't. Can we just go in there? We'll be quite and try not to break anything." she gave an encouraging smile.

Pietor sniffed "You really are quite the little negotiator aren't you?" he watched her for a second more as she gave a thumbs up. He rolled his eyes and dug the keys out of his pocket. He went over and unlocked it, waving an arm for them to enter.

Shelby smiled again and half pulled Laura with her. "Thanks!"

After they were in, Pietor leaned around the wall and flipped on all the lights.

"_Don't _hurt yourselves and _don't _break anything." he growled, letting the door close. "I'll get blamed for it."

Shelby looked around, eyes sparkling. It was a little bit like Raven's place at H.I.V.E. There was the big circular pit in the center, surrounded by wired fence and some padding along the walls. Outside of the pit, the floor was mostly padded with a few concrete areas of floor.

On one side of the gymnasium there was also a foam pit, which had several tall mats stacked up beside it, making a perfect diving platform. There were series of balancing beams around the room and ropes dangling from the ceiling. A few of the shorter ropes had metal rings on the end, perfect for swinging.

"So why did you want to come in here again?" Laura asked, turning to her friend. Shelby gaped at her.

"Are you kidding, this is the best!"

####

After a couple of minutes, Anastasia came down the stairs in flurry night gown. She had a blanket wrapped around her neck, so it draped over her shoulders and arms. Spotting her brother on the couch, she smiled.

"Well, hello, stranger. Aren't you supposed to be at work?"

Pietor glanced up "I thought you deserved my company in the morning more than twice in a week." Drake got up from his spot in the couch and trotted over to her.

Anastasia gave an amused sniff, petting the dog "You're naughty. Iliana's going to die there without you."

Pietor stood up and put his hands on her shoulders "She'll be fine. I'm going in later today."

There was a muffled thump on the ground and a chorus of giggling laughter. Anastasia looked over at the door to the training room, eyes widening a bit.

"What was that?"

"Those two girls." Pietor replied, waving a hand "They wanted to go in."

"And you let them in?" Anastasia asked, with a big smile. "You're so cute."

"Stop it."

####

About an hour or so later, everyone else was awake and Raven and Darkdoom were down stairs in the kitchen with both the Furans. Raven was leaning against the wall, by the fridge, typing on her phone. Darkdoom hovered nearby, catching glimpses of her conversation.

"So who are you texting?" he asked, leaning over to look at Raven's phone from a better view. She leaned the opposite direction, tilting her phone away. Anastasia was carefully flipping the pancakes and glanced up. Pietor, however, didn't, as he was reading a book at the table.

"No one." Raven replied.

"Is that David?" Darkdoom asked excitedly.

"Mmmaaayyybe." Raven waved him off with one hand. Now at _that,_ Pietor looked up.

"Is it really?" Anastasia asked. Raven nodded, not taking her eyes of the screen.

Anastasia snuck over and peered at it from behind her shoulder. Raven moved away from both of them, scowling.

"He was just asking me why I didn't say goodbye last night." she said, indignantly "Cause I didn't."

"Aww….." Anastasia still smiled. Pietor looked at her and made a face, disgusted, then went back to reading.

Nero and Wing came in as Anastasia finished her _aww. _

"Do you know where Shelby and Laura got too?" Wing asked and Nero frowned as he glanced back at the student.

"No, I assumed they were still asleep."

Wing shook his head and Nero narrowed his eyes.

"They're in there." Pietor didn't look up, but pointed at the wall connected to the training room.

Nero tilted his head slightly at him and Anastasia rolled her eyes.

"He _means_ Laura and Shelby were up early and bored so he let them in the training room and they are still in there together."

Nero made an "ohh" face and nodded.

"I liked how I explained it better." Pietor said.

"You didn't _ex-plain_." Anastasia told him, stirring the batter. He made a sarcastic, frilly face down at his book. She narrowed her eyes mischievously and flung a spoonful of pancake batter at him.

It hit Pietor right on the lower chest. It was silence as he looked down at it for several seconds, then at his sister.

"Why?"

Anastasia tilted her shoulders in the beginnings of a shrug.

"Why? Why would you…? Just _why_." Pietor asked, gazing back down at it. He scooped it off with a finger and chucked it back at his sister. Most of it splatted on the floor right next to her feet, but some was across the counter and chairs.

"Hey, you're making a mess." Pietor said, standing up "Cut it out, will you?" as he went past, he hit her on the head with his book and left the kitchen.

"So how did you get David's number?" Darkdoom asked, smiling at the scene still before them. Anastasia was wiping up some of the batter off the floor with a napkin. "Did you ask for it or did he give you it?"

"Iliana stole my number and gave it to David." Raven explained. "It wasn't my fault."

"But aren't you just a _little_ happy she did?"

Raven shot him a look, but she didn't object. Anastasia threw the napkin away and shared a look with Darkdoom and Nero.

There was some muffled laughing that slowly got louder from outside the kitchen. Shelby and Laura walked in after a second, still breathing hard, with smiles on their faces.

"Hey." Shelby waved a finger.

"Am I just paranoid, or have you done something bad?" Nero asked immediately.

"Me?" Laura asked shrilly. "Come on, Dr. Nero, you know me better than that."

"Yeah, you know her better than that." Shelby echoed.

Nero looked at her, eyes narrowed and she smiled pleasantly.

"There are pancakes here." Anastasia said, setting down a plate.

As they were eating, Pietor's phone went off from its place on the table, where it was charging. Anastasia spun off the chair and went to peer at it. Her eyes widened slightly as she unplugged it.

There were twenty-two new messages from, as far as you could see, they were all from Iliana. Anastasia started reading through them.

**(Last night)Iliana**: _David keeps trying to convince me he won the second game you guys played too. Did he?_

**(5 minutes later) Iliana**: _8-)_

**Iliana**: _Yolo_

**Iliana**: _Dude, answer your phone._

**Iliana**: _Hello? Who's there? You've reached Iliana!_

**Iliana**: _La da la da da_

**Iliana**: _Are you mad?_

**Iliana**: _Pietor!_

**Iliana**: _Doo Di Doo Di Da._

**Iliana**: _Oh Furan man…._

**Iliana**: _PIETOR FURAN!_

**Iliana**: _Well goodnight._

**(Next morning) Iliana**: _Are you mad cause I was talking to Max?_

**Iliana**: _You're not at work either! Are you sick? _

**Iliana**: _Are you ignoring me!?_

**Iliana**: _WHY ARE YOU NOT REPLYING_

**Iliana**: _Pietor?_

**Iliana**: _Hello…..did you die?_

**Iliana**: _Come on man!_

**Iliana**: (Attachment picture of Iliana) _Aren't I adorable?_

**Iliana**: _Yo! Dude….why are you mad? Or did you get sniped?_

**Iliana**: _I am not getting any work done…._

**David**: _Hey Pietor, Iliana is freaking out cause you aren't replying. She called me at midnight. I'm pretty sure it's just cause you don't have your phone though. ;-)_

Anastasia smiled and slightly shook her head.

**(Just now)Iliana**: _Pietor are you srsly mad at me? Can I come at like three to train?"_

Anastasia set the phone down and went to flip the next pancakes on the pan. After a couple more minutes, her brother walked back in, with a new gray shirt on.

"Your phone went off." she told him. Pietor pinched her as he walked by to his phone and she half-yelped, half-squealed, jumping up. She glared at him, then flipped the pancakes.

The others smiled and Anastasia shook her head at them.

"Iliana's coming over at three." Pietor said, without turning around.

"Did you look at the other texts?" Anastasia asked, then ducked self-consciously. "Not that I read them or anything."

Pietor shot her a look.

**Uhhh…so this was kind of just a fill-in amusement chapter. Happy Christmas! I can't wait for Iliana to come over to train! Excited to write!**

**Do you guys want to know what Pietor replied to Iliana? I just thought I would add it in at the end.**

**Pietor**: _No, of course I'm not mad. Why would I be mad? Yes you can come over at three."_

**Iliana**: _You replied! Well you weren't replying…so I wondered if…you know…._

**Pietor**: _What?_

**Iliana**: _Idk._

**Pietor**: _And yes, that picture was adorable._

**Iliana**: _:-D_

**_PLEASE REVIEW! IT IS MY CHRISTMAS PRESENT TO YOU SO GIVE ONE BACK BY REVIEWING!_**


	29. Back Tuck

**What would you guys do if I suddenly decided to stop writing…and never end this story…?**

**JK! I will NEVER stop writing this story.**

**THANK YOU SAILORAVEN FOR SAVING MY LIFE (Only she will understand this by the way) :) Thank her in the reviews! This chapter dedicated to her!**

**Please review!**

Pietor ran down the stairs after the man, gun drawn and ready to shoot. His men were scattered and the chase was up to him now. The man in front of him dived between the multiple rows of shelves filled with storage. He rolled out of sight, than all went silent.

Pietor kept his gun raised, flicking between all the points of sounds he heard. A long mirror behind him shattered as a bullet struck its center only inches from Pietor's arm.

"Put the weapon down!" Pietor yelled, sliding over quickly.

"No. _You _put the weapon down, Pietor and talk to me. We can still make this work." the man replied.

Pietor sneered "Unless you agree to step down as president and shut this pathetic organization down, I will never work with you."

"Too bad. You were always a very valuable person to have on my team." the man said back "Why the sudden turn, Pietor? Is it Iliana? The friends you brought here? What happened?"

"You think I was ever your ally?" Pietor snapped.

"Yes, in fact I do." he replied. "When the other president was in charge."

"Yes. When the other president was in charge." Pietor agreed. "Then you decided to take over Russia."

"You will be at the front, Pietor." the man said "Come back. You can still work with me. I can keep your sister safe."

Pietor hesitated a second.

There were sounds of running feet and Pietor started running toward the exit door of the Convit building, hoping to cut him off.

But his target had just seemed to disappear. He broke open the door to the alley behind the building.

There was a black shape in front of him and he raised his gun.

"Pietor drop!" Raven yelled, a gun pointed at him.

Pietor lowered his gun.

"Drop!" she yelled urgently, eyes widening. Both her fingers were on the trigger.

Pietor lifted his weapon and pointed carefully. Raven met his gaze as they both pulled the trigger.

Two bodies hit the ground with a thud.

**3 weeks earlier…**

"I want to do a back tuck." Shelby announced as her, Laura and Wing walked up the stairs. Laura glanced at her. It was just after breakfast and she wanted to go do unnecessary flips.

"Then go do a back tuck." she grumbled.

"I need a spot." Shelby said.

"A spot?" Wing echoed, frowning.

"Someone to hold me while I do it so I don't crush my head." Shelby said plaintively.

"I would volunteer, but I am quite unfamiliar with both subjects." Wing said "A back tuck and a spot."

Shelby rolled her eyes "I'll show you." she whipped back around and jogged down the stairs. Wing and Laura shared an unenthusiastic look before following.

"Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!" Nero said as Shelby reached for the door to Pietor's training room. She groaned and bent over.

Raven and Darkdoom, who were next to Nero on the couch turned to look.

"Not so fast." Nero said "What are you doing?"

"Wool…..you know…" Shelby gestured at the door weakly "Pietor let us in this morning…"

"That doesn't mean you can go in _now_." Nero replied "Neither of them are inside."

"We'll be careful." Shelby said pleadingly.

"No." Nero said, gesturing at the couches. "Come sit down."

"Iliana would let us go in." Shelby whined as she trudged over.

"Um. Iliana would let you jump off a cliff as long as you promised not to get hurt." Nero replied.

"For the record. Wing and I were not a part of that." Laura said, sitting down. Shelby shot her a look and she shrugged apologetically.

"Raven can you spot a back tuck?" the student turned to the assassin. Raven shrugged.

"Sure. But I'm not going too."

"Why?"

Raven just ignored her.

"Dr. Nero….." Shelby complained "She won't do it, so why can't we go in there?" she bobbed her knees hopefully.

Nero just glanced at her carefully for a second, but didn't say anything.

"You're pushing it." Darkdoom told her and Shelby growled.

"You know we're missing a test while we're here?" Laura asked.

"Shut up!" Shelby exclaimed, whacking her in the arm.

"Yeah, I know." Nero said, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh...uh…" Shelby smiled sheepishly at Laura, who scowled, rubbing her arm.

**Meanwhile…..**

"Hey!" Iliana called through her window, driving her car through the Furan's gate. Pietor and Anastasia turned from watching Drake run in the distance. They both waved and Pietor called his dog back over.

Iliana braked and parked her car. Drake sprinted over and leaped up at her, as she got out. She petted him and gave him a kiss on the nose.

"That's a good boy." she said, squeezing the dog's cheeks and rubbing side to side.

"Did you just barely get home?" Pietor asked, walking over with hands in his pockets.

"I actually haven't been home, yet." Iliana said, letting the dog go "I came straight here."

"Dat's nice." Pietor said.

"You guys are training?" Anastasia checked, walking up.

"Yeah. My first try out is in three months, so we gotta get booking it, man." Iliana said, reaching over and smacking Pietor on the arm.

"Okay. Let's do it." he said, shrugging slightly "Not saying we can't."

####

"Good. Let's go."

"_Why_ can't we go in?" Shelby asked for the third time in a row.

"Miss Trinity. This is not H.I.V.E." Nero said, leaning in, looking seriously exasperated. "Stop asking."

"What should we do then? We're so bored." Shelby moaned.

Nero glanced at the other students. One was reading and the other seemed quite content with just sitting there. He looked back at Shelby, who scowled at them.

"Shelby, just shut…up." Raven said, looking at her "He's too stubborn. You're not going to get anything out of him."

Nero looked like he might agree for a second before he fully comprehended what she said. He shot her a look that said 'what?'

Raven shrugged with an innocent smile "Got her off your back."

Nero just narrowed his eyes playfully and didn't reply.

The door opened and Pietor, Anastasia and Iliana walked in.

"There's Iliana!" Shelby whispered happily. Nero scowled at her and she shrugged self-consciously.

"Hi! Hi! Hi!" Iliana sang, walking over.

"You said you wanted to hurry." Pietor said, going over to the training room.

"Oh. Bye! Bye! Bye!" she sang again, twirling around to follow him. A murmur of amusement passed through the others watching.

"They're going in!" Shelby said, standing up "Can I go?"

"No." Nero said at the same time Anastasia said "Sure."

They glanced at each other, eyebrows raised.

"They're not going to be doing anything right at the start." Anastasia said, shrugging.

Shelby smiled at Nero encouragingly.

He scowled again. "I don't trust you."

Shelby gasped, putting a hand on her chest. She didn't say anything, but turned slowly, mockingly gathering her dignity.

"I'm coming too." Laura said, getting up and setting down her book.

"Yeah, I got to go spy on these two." Raven said "Come on, Wing. If you come, I won't seem so suspicious."

Nero turned and looked at her incredulously.

"I'll be glad to be of service." Wing said, with a slight sarcastic note to his voice. Darkdoom smiled widely and Raven looked back at Wing.

"What did you just say to me?"

"Nothing." Wing replied with a completely straight face.

"I thought so." Raven replied.

"If you want to see them as they really are wait a couple minutes. Don't let them suspect anything Natalya otherwise Pietor will clamp right up." Anastasia said.

Raven let out a breath and sat back down.

"Are they actually….a thing?" Darkdoom asked.

"You know, I don't really know." Anastasia responded, looking at him, head tilted. "Sometimes I think for certain and other times they seem just like colleagues. But I mean Pietor's like that every other day of his life anyway. He can be extremely anti-social, but also all out. In fact, before everything happened and you guys came here, he was talking to me and he goes 'There's gonna be _people_ here? I don't even remember how to talk to people. What am I supposed to do? I don't even remember English.'" Anastasia rolled her eyes.

####

"Alright it's been about twenty minutes and it sounds like a party in there. Can we go?" Shelby asked.

It was true. Music was loudly blaring from the training room, yet muffled by the wall.

"You think Pietor'll clamp up now?" Raven asked Anastasia.

"He'll always clamp up." she replied.

"Wait, wait. What if we all went in there and not just me?" Raven suggested "It would seem a lot more innocent."

"Yeah, but not all at once." Anastasia said thoughtfully "Otherwise he'll know something's up."

"Alright, good. Let's go." Raven gestured at the students to stand.

"Do I really have to move?" Darkdoom asked as they walked away.

Shelby went and pulled open the door and a blast of music hit them. You could hear Iliana yelling over the music, but you couldn't make out what she was saying. The music **(umm...alright. It's one of those songs with a really good lull from the singing for dancing. I don't know how to describe it :{)**

Iliana was standing across the room, near the foam pit, laughing and bending over to clench her stomach, even though you could hear nothing over the loud beat.

Pietor on the other hand was literally flying through the air. He swung on the ropes that had little rings attached to them on the ceiling, then let go and caught onto another. During the time he was in the air, he would usually spin around or do a flip. **(Sorry, I am listening to music. Endless Summer by Cascada. You can too! If uh you want…)**

"_It's an end-less sum-mer  
Boy I want you close to me  
In an end-less sum-mer  
We'll make love and we'll be free!  
It's an end-less sum-mer  
Boy i want you close to me  
In an end-less sum-mer  
Now it's time for you and me!"_

"What the freak?" Shelby said, raising her voice over the music a bit.

Pietor let go on the last one on the far side of the gym and fell into the foam pit. Iliana jumped down on top of him. They wrestled for a second before Pietor shoved her off and dug himself out. Iliana seemed to be struggling.

"My leg is stuuuck!" she yelled very opera like "Pull me out!"

Pietor folded his arms and didn't take a step. She stuck out her tongue at him and continually tried to heave herself out until finally she was on the ground. Pietor took off running and after a second Iliana ran after him.

"_My heart beats stronger  
Now you're by my side  
I'll hold you tight  
Please let me show you  
How we'll grab a ray of light  
'Cause now you're mine  
This is our time!"_

Pietor whipped around and dodged past Iliana, who stumbled forward with the stop. She turned around and followed. Pietor leaped onto the side of the mountain of mats, trying to grip the handles on the side, but Iliana dived right after him. The whole stack leaned forward and crashed into the foam pit.

Now. You can imagine Raven and student's faces at this point…

Both Pietor and Iliana bounced off the mats and back onto land. Pietor seemed to be yelling at her and pointing at the mats irritably. Iliana started arguing back, also gesturing everywhere with her hands. He waved her away and went over to the rope that dangled all the way to the ground. He leaped about halfway up.

"_My heart beats stronger  
Now you're by my side-  
I'll hold you tight  
Please let me show you  
How we'll grab a ray of light  
'Cause now you're mine  
This is our tiii-hime!"_

"You're mine!" Iliana shouted over the music. She went to the bottom of his rope, arms crossed. Pietor got off the rope and onto the little ledge along the wall.

Raven glanced back as a hand touched her shoulder. Nero, Darkdoom, and Anastasia had all arrived apparently. Nero was the one with the hand on her shoulder, probably so she had known they were there so she didn't go all ninja. They were all watching with a look of amazement/"whoa."

"Can you hear me?" Darkdoom called out, looking at Raven in amusement.

"What?" she called, leaning forward.

Anastasia tilted her head and turned around over to the phone hooked up to the speakers. She clicked it on and pushed paused.

The room went silent, except the yells between Pietor and Iliana. Pietor looked up.

"Hey!-whoa." his voice trembled in amusement as he realized who was all standing there. "Sorry, music too loud?" he didn't really sound at all apologetic.

"No, no of course not." Anastasia replied, with a sarcastic nod. "What are you doing up there?"

Pietor looked around himself, then back at her "Standing. What would you like me to do? Sit?" he bent down and put his legs over the side. Iliana smiled and glanced over at Anastasia.

"You totally killed our jam." she said.

"I am very sorry." Anastasia said with a deep bow of mock respect.

"You guys want to watch my try-out routine?" Iliana called. She walked over and Pietor jumped down "And don't you dare say no."

"Of course we do." Darkdoom said with amusement, before anyone else could speak.

"Well good." Iliana said. She took her phone from Anastasia and started flipping through songs.

"Your routine for the Olympics?" Shelby asked eagerly.

"No. My routine to see if I'm _good _enough for the Olympics." Iliana replied with a smile.

"Which you are." Anastasia said.

"Maybe." Iliana said, sucking in air through her teeth. She chose her dance song. Pietor was pulling a balance beam out into the center of the room, yanking it with strong quick tugs.

"Okay." Iliana handed the phone to Anastasia "When I tell you to push play, do it."

"Alright."

Iliana skipped back down to the beam Pietor had moved for her. He backed up until he was a few feet away, hands clasped.

"Wait, so what's Pietor there for?" Raven asked Anastasia.

"He's her physical trainer and her spot in case she falls." Anastasia replied "He fixes the stuff she does wrong."

"Yeah. That's not really what I saw when we first came in here." Raven said.

"Can't argue with that, but they must work most of the time otherwise she wouldn't have any routine." Anastasia said with a wry smile.

"Okay Anastasia!" Iliana called, standing on the beam while bending and touching her toes with one hand.

The music came on.

"_This is the summer of love,  
Ohooh"_

Iliana arched her back to stand up straight.

"_I feel my heart is dancing."_

"_If you wanna dance with me,  
get ready there's a party tonight.  
Wohooh"_

Iliana thrust her arms back to her chest and hopped back on the beam on foot at a time.

"_You better wake up, wake up  
the party's gonna take up.  
We livin' for a saturday night.  
All my girls on the floor  
are you ready for the time of your life?"_

She waved her leg and twisted around until she was upright again.

"_This is the summer of love,  
Ohooh  
I feel my heart is dancing.  
Summer of Love  
Ohooh  
It makes me feel alive."_

"_Keep rocking rocking your body!,  
Rocking rocking the party!,  
Rocking rock everybody!,  
Welcome to the summer of love!.  
Ohooh  
And make this feel alive!."_

Iliana circled her hips and leaped up and down across the beam, landing with bent ankles. After a few more repetitions of this, she jumped off the bored and spun before sinking into the left splits completely. Her head flipped up and she brought her legs in and leaped to her feet. She swung her arms in a series of almost karate like strikes, but didn't hit all the way through.

_"I need a thrill of ecstasy,  
So DJ come and give us a ride.  
Wohooh  
We're loosing gravity  
The party is about to ignite.  
Wohooh  
So put your hands up, hands up  
Your body's gonna take up,  
We livin' for a Saturday night."_

Iliana arched her back and caught herself with her hands, now in a bridge. She whipped her legs over, picking up speed and throwing herself into a back handspring.

Pietor was backing up with her until she was ready to do her back tuck. Iliana did a pair more of back handsprings before she flung herself up in the air. Pietor grabbed her and helped her make it over. As soon as she landed, he backed away again, letting her do her thing.

"Now that's a spot." Shelby muttered.

**(And the writer got tired of writing her dance.)**

Iliana landed, one foot tucked behind the other as the music came to a stop. She was breathless and smiled at her audience. They came to an applause. Pietor walked over to her.

"I still don't understand why you need me there." he said "You doing it just fine."

Iliana teetered from toe to toe anxiously "I'm scared I'm going to totally mess up and hit the ground. Back tucks are _hard_!"

"You're doing them!" Pietor replied.

"With _you_!" Iliana exclaimed.

"What if I left the room?"

"Ah! No! I can't do it by myself!"

"You haven't even tried."

"I _can't _try."

"Try trying."

Iliana growled.

"Well anyway, it looks good." Anastasia broke in.

"No it doesn't!" Iliana moaned. Pietor glanced at her, eyebrows tilted in slightly.

"Can you spot meeee?" Shelby asked Pietor. He looked at her for a second, thinking in his head how rude it would be to say no…

"Shelby. You don't even know how to do a back tuck." Raven said.

"I will spot you!" Iliana offered.

Shelby squealed and teetered over to her.

"Okay. So jump straight up, thrust back and pull your legs in tight." Iliana said. The student nodded and she put a hand on her back.

"1…2…3!"

Shelby leaped up in the air, tucked and came back down. She let her arms fall, then covered her mouth.

"Holy fetch!" Iliana said "High five!" she held up her hand and they smacked each other's hand.

"Wow." Raven said, nodding. "You actually have some talent."

**Do you guys want me to write the teenage party chapter next? Let me know.**


	30. Kids and Adult Kids

**Hey! Umm...yeah. I just made this scene later that night after they trained, because I am very slow writer and didn't want to skip a day. You **_**better**_** review! #yolo**

"You don't want to go?" Shelby exclaimed.

Wing shook his head "I did not say that. I said when we are there, I might be a little unenjoyable as I am very…self-conscious around other irresponsible kids."

"What happened in his child-hood?" Iliana muttered to Pietor, who shot her an amused look through narrowed eyes. It was getting near the time for the kids to go to David's party and too be quite honest all the adults were a little excited themselves.

"So in other words, you don't want to go." Shelby said. Wing shook his head again.

"I did not say that."

"I want to talk to Michael again." Laura said, setting down her book on the table in front of them.

"Little nerd romance?" Raven asked, without looking up from her book.

Laura just scowled.

"You know Wing, you don't have to go." Raven said.

"I wasn't saying I didn't want too." Wing explained.

"David will get you hyped, don't worry." Iliana said. Wing raised an eyebrow at her, which Pietor almost, _almost _smiled at. _What was with this kid?_

"I call driving them!" Iliana said, raising her hand. Everyone glanced at her for s second in silence.

"What?" she asked, letting her hands fall to a shrug. "I want to drive."

###

"Alright Shelby." Raven said, turning to look back at the student in the back seat. Iliana slowly parked the car in front of the house flashing with lights. "Remember what Dr. Nero told you and there won't be any need for me to kill you."

"That man is so uptight." Iliana muttered. Raven glanced at her. Nero had very subtly asked her to go along with Iliana when she drove the students. Not because he didn't trust her, but…it was Iliana.

"I know." Shelby said resignedly. "Can we go already?"

Raven nodded. As soon as the door closed, Iliana whipped her head to smile at her.

"Why don't you go in to see David?"

Raven blinked "What?"

"Go in and see David!" Iliana urged "This is your chance to…." she ran fingers up Raven's arm "be _alone _with him."

Raven slapped her hand "Please don't."

"Dude." Iliana said, smacking her back.

"Do you like to be… _alone_…with Pietor?" Raven said, also running fingers up her arm.

"Why not?" Iliana replied. Raven scowled and Iliana smiled again.

"You do_ like _David, yeah?"

"He's nice." Raven replied vaguely. In truth, David was _extremely _nice. Not something she saw a lot of, besides Nero.

"Hmm…nice." Iliana nodded, grinning. Raven honestly couldn't help but smile at this woman's sparkling face.

###

Shelby knocked on the door excitedly. Laura was also tingling with excitement. Wing looked a little too serious for a guy that was about to go into a party that looked…just _sweet_.

There was a loud yell and a series of running feet toward the door. A boy pulled it open and smiled.

"Come in! Come in! Come in!" he exclaimed. The three teens came in the house. After they had taken off their shoes, they walked into the crowded living room.

"David! The special guests are here!" a teen called.

The man glanced up from scooping ice cream into the punch. He smiled and set down the scoop.

"Welcome!"

###

Nero waited just outside the Furan's door, just enjoying the nice breeze of the cooling evening. Freezing it was, but it felt good for now. Sometimes you just needed those moments and it had seemed ideal that both Natalya and the students had been gone for that bit.

Not that Raven was bad company or anything, but she most likely would have followed him out and questioned him. Darkdoom, while quite close to Nero, let him alone at those times.

There was a soft nudge on his leg from behind and Nero glanced back. Drake looked up at him, tail wagging, with snow all over his nose. Nero patted the dog as he pressed against his side, panting.

There was a flash of light in the trees and the Husky's ears pricked. Nero carefully held onto his collar as Pietor's black truck returned through the gate. Iliana waved at him and grabbed Raven's arm to wave too. Nero waved back, trying to match Iliana's face.

They pulled up next to the base and cut the engine. Drake trotted over to the car as Raven hopped down. Iliana sat in the car, grabbing some stuff.

"How'd it go?" Nero asked. Raven shrugged.

"Fine. What are you doing out here?" she wrapped her arms around herself "Its freezing."

"I won't be out here too much longer." Nero said. "I just wanted some air."

Drake sat next to Raven, tail wagging. It was lightly starting to snow now and she shook her head.

"Don't get sick."

"Yes, mum." Nero replied, with a serious nod. Raven smiled slightly, before turning back into the house. The dog went with her.

Iliana finally jumped out of the car and slammed the door.

"Hey!" she said breathlessly, going up to him.

"Hi." Nero replied.

"Come out for a little fresh air?" Iliana asked, pulling on her coat.

"Something like that." Nero said with a small smile.

"Something on your mind?"

He shook his head.

In all honesty though, every time he saw Iliana now, all he could think about was the news she had given them about the Furans. Since then, one question had dwelt in his mind. Why _had _Anastasia attempted suicide? Out of anyone, she had seemed the strongest at heart.

"Max?" Iliana waved a hand and he zoned back in.

"There is definitely something on your mind." she said.

"It's nothing." Nero shook his head.

"Okay, okay, I won't pry." Iliana nudged him "That Raven girl will get it out of you."

"What?"

She smiled "Nothing. Soft spots are cute in guys."

"What do you mean?" Nero asked, tilting his head slightly.

"Oh figure it out." Iliana replied, shoving him back by the shoulder.

Nero regained his balance, raising his eyebrows at her. His eyes flicked to something behind her. A shape was slipping silently back into the house. He leaned to look, internally wincing. Pietor had already seen him talking with Iliana at the party. And she had put up a little show for the assassin at the dance.

_Crap. What was he thinking?_

"We should go inside." Nero suggested.

###

Laura smiled at Michael as he brought some of the punch over to where they were sitting.

"There you go." he said.

"Thank-you."

The music still played and some kids were dancing, others were eating or chatting it up. Laura and Michael were definitely chatting it up.

"So I wanted to build this…"

Laura leaned in as Michael started off on another very intriguing story. Shelby, in the background near the food, cupped her hands together in a heart. Laura glared at her, and waved a hand furiously for her to stop.

Shelby dropped her hands and brought in a big breath. "Wing, Laura needs help."

"I would say she was doing fairly well." Wing replied with a frown. Shelby smiled.

"Having fun?" David asked, coming up from behind her.

"Yes!" Shelby turned excitedly.

"Good, because it's going to get a whole lot better. Everybody grab a partner!"

###

"Are we watching a movie?" Iliana asked throwing her phone onto the couch, after her and Nero had walked in. Anastasia looked at Pietor, who was on his phone. He either didn't hear or pretended not too. This was usually the time he would make a mock excited reply. Iliana scowled.

"Uhh…sure." Anastasia said, also looking at her brother. Nero tilted his head forward, trying to catch a glance of his facial expression.

"We can watch like an adult movie thanks to David." Iliana said "Good? Sound good? Good. I'll get a bunch to choose from."

She turned and went into Pietor's room to grab the movies.

"Do you want to make popcorn?" Anastasia asked her brother. Pietor clicked off his phone and gave a Pietor thumb's up. **(Which is like half-sarcastic, half-"whatever" and really quick)**

"What's up with them?" Darkdoom asked, looking amused as he went into the kitchen "Trouble in love-land?"

"Not that I know of." Anastasia said, leaning to look after Pietor. "He seemed on the quiet side."

"That's probably my fault." Nero said "Iliana stopped to talk with me outside and Pietor came out and saw us. Probably got the wrong idea."

"Why would he care about that?" Anastasia asked, puzzled "She talks to everyone."

"Yeah, but she also left the game at the party to come talk to us _and_ at the dance she was giving him a little grief when she danced with me." Nero replied. He sucked in a quick, almost amused breath.

Anastasia slowly smiled "He's such an idiot. He can't even be jealous because he won't make a move. And he's not going to do anything about it." she shook her head "Ahhh!"

"And I'm not trying to do this." Nero said, trying to clear up the air. "He just always spots us at the wrong second."

Anastasia chuckled "Don't worry, I'm not accusing."

"Just keeping it clear."

"She'll sit next to him." Anastasia shrugged casually "It's his problem."

Iliana came back out, carrying a stack of movies. "Okay, people. Come and choose." she set them down on the coffee table. "I got majorly adult movies, action movies, and a couple romances."

"Ugh. No romance." Raven said.

Iliana raised her eyebrows "Alright." she got the three ones on top and set them aside. "Romance is out."

"What's your problem?" Darkdoom asked, glancing at her.

"They're always so sappy."

Darkdoom rolled his eyes.

"How about the Avengers?" Iliana asked, holding up a movie case.

"You consider that an _adult_ movie?" Darkdoom asked, scowling a bit.

"Nope, but I want to watch it." Iliana smiled "Please?"

###

Shelby screamed as the boys threw her into the bunch of pillows and blankets. She rolled out of it, laughing.

"My turn! My turn!" Nadia, a girl with caramel hair and very green eyes, called.

The boys picked her up by the wrists and ankles and swung her back and forth.

Wing pulled Shelby to her feet. She was still grinning like crazy, trying to regain her footing.

"Having fun?" he asked loudly, with a slight smile. Shelby nodded. The music in the room was even louder now and kids were everywhere. What was even better was that David was right in the middle, totally chill with everything.

"He needs to come to H.I.V.E.!" Shelby exclaimed over the music. Wing looked at her, eyes wide like she was insane.

"Aren't you having fun?" she called, leaning close to him. He shrugged, before giving a thumbs up.

"Does anyone want to start the taffy pull?" David called.

###

"I _love_ this movie." Iliana said, putting in the disk.

At her pleading, everyone had agreed to watching the Avengers. Pietor had yet to return from the kitchen.

"What is he doing in there?" Iliana asked, irritably.

"I'm guessing making a lot of popcorn." Anastasia said.

Iliana turned on the projector and waited for a second for it to heat up. During those couple seconds, Pietor came back out with a large bowl of popcorn. He set it on the table and took a seat "What are we watching?'

"The Avengers." Anastasia informed him with a nod. He rolled his eyes and pointed at Iliana. Anastasia nodded.

"You know you love this show." Iliana said, turning around.

"No and by the way. Why did you get the disk and everything? You could have just gotten on Netflix." Pietor said, leaning to see what she was doing.

Iliana stopped and let out a groan to the ceiling. "Fettchhhhh."

Drake, who was over by the door, got up and went over to her, ears pricked. Pietor rolled his eyes again and everyone else chuckled.

"Not that kind of fetch." Iliana said, pushing the dog away. The Husky's tail had begun to wag exceedingly and he crawled up to her on his stomach, panting sweetly.

"Okay that is so weird. I've never seen a dog do that to get attention. Usually they just slobber all over you." Raven said.

Pietor shrugged tightly without looking over. Iliana just growled and went to turn off the lights. The screen got white with light as the room went dark. Drake followed her back over to her seat as she sat next to him.

"Drake. Go away." she said.

"He's not going to let it go for a while." Pietor said.

"Then what do I do?"

Pietor grunted, then sat up straight "Drake, go find a ball."

The dog's ears pricked and Pietor waved him on with a finger. He turned around and went out in search of a ball. He sniffed along the ground and walked toward Pietor's room.

"That won't help." Iliana said quietly as the movie started.

"Yeah it will. There's no balls inside." Pietor whispered back. Iliana gasped and glanced at him, a smile curling over her face.

"You are such a jerk."

"No I'm not."

###

Shelby laughed hysterically and stretched her fingers apart. The sticky taffy strung beneath her fingers and started sinking to the floor. She ducked under it and let it fall into her mouth. Laura balled some up and put it in her mouth. Wing on the other hand, wasn't touching the stuff.

Michael had it all over his wrists, acting like handcuffs.

"I am now declaring a national taffy day!" Shelby called over the music.

"In which nation?" Michael asked.

"Fine, _inter_national." Shelby laughed "The whole world should know about this!"

"You do look rather…odd…dressed in all the taffy." Wing said, raising an eyebrow. "I hope this is not what I have to look forward to once a year."

"Try it!" Shelby exclaimed, grabbing a fresh piece. She held it out to him and nodded repeatedly. Wing stared at it rather like it was a bug rather than candy. Shelby rolled her eyes and out it in his hand. He hesitantly put it in his mouth and chewed.

"Ehhh?" Laura asked him.

Wing made a face and nodded. "It's great." he grimaced, trying to get it off his teeth. David watched him, not sure whether the kid might puke or choke on the stickiness.

Wing winced as he swallowed "Wow."

Shelby, Laura, and Michael stared at him, mouths open slightly. He shrugged, face still a little squeezed from the "sourness."

"Did they not have candy where you grew up?" Shelby asked, pitifully.

"Not really." Wing replied "It is not particularly good for you."

"That's the point." Michael said, stringing another piece into his mouth.

Another song came on and everyone cheered. There were a couple girls dancing in the living room.

Pretty soon, everyone broke down into dancing, except Wing, who looked around him for a second. David smiled and shook his head.

###

"Team Loki or team Thor?" Iliana asked. "I'm team Lori." she watched the screen.

"Who's Lori?" Raven asked, glancing at her.

"Loki and Thor combined because I could _never_ choose between them." Iliana replied seriously. Her tone suggested not arguing.

"So you came up with a girl's name for them?"

"No! I just put their names together." Iliana replied "But I do like Tom Hiddleston better than Chris Hemsworth although they are both very hot."

"Hey guess what?" Pietor asked. Raven and Iliana looked at him.

"What?"

"Be quiet."

###

About two hours later…

"Hey, do you guys want a ride back to your place?" David asked, scooping up a cup off the floor. He looked up at Wing, Shelby, and Laura. A lot of the kids had gone home by now.

"I'm sure your folk are pretty tied up doing something and I'll probably go over anyway." David said, tossing it into the garbage.

"Do you need help cleaning up?" Laura asked. Shelby still looked a bit sick from the amount of candy she had eaten and didn't look like she'd be much help.

"Nah. I can do that tomorrow." David said, waving a hand.

"Well then sure. Thanks."

He gave a wink and a thumbs up.

###

"Iliana looks passed out." Anastasia said, looking over at Pietor and her on the couch. The movie was at its credits. Nero, Darkdoom, and Raven looked over. Pietor, stared down at his bundle, then nodded up at them. Anastasia smiled.

"That training today must have exhausted her."

"Seems like it." Pietor replied.

"Well, she was chasing you all around that place." Raven said, with a small, challenging smile. She was rolling her shoulder back, as if testing something.

Pietor looked at her, eyebrows raised. "What was that?"

"What?"

"That tone. That was like a dare. Like prove me wrong kind of thing."

"It was not." Raven replied "But she was."

"I wasn't saying otherwise." Pietor said, with a Pietor shrug **(which is a tiny shrug with one shoulder)**

"I wonder if David is tired yet." Nero said, pressing his lips sarcastically.

"Yeah. Shelby probably killed him." Raven said.

"Killed who?" Iliana yawned from her spot. Pietor glanced at her.

"Tired?"

"Whoa." she sat up, suddenly wide awake. "Was I asleep?"

"Very much so." Pietor said.

"I don't even remember half the movie." Iliana said "What the heck."

"Yeah. My arms asleep too. Get off." Pietor said. She leaned forwards as he pulled it out from behind her.

"Dang, dude. I missed Loki." she grumbled, slumping down.

"Yeah I was surprised. As soon as Thor came in, you were gone." Pietor said.

"Wow." Iliana rubbed her eyes, blinking.

He leaned forward to stand up. Drake, who was lying at his feet, moved quickly.

"Hey." Pietor said, bending down and smacking him on the rib cage back and forth. **(That's a lovable gesture, not abuse!) **"When did you come back?"

The dog licked his muzzle before ducking his head to pick up the ball he had.

"What the heck…" Pietor said grabbing it. He held it up with a confused, amused scowl. "Where did you get this?"

"I thought you said there weren't any balls inside." Iliana said.

"There weren't." Pietor replied.

Drake wagged his tail, watching the ball intently. Pietor waved it back and forth slowly, before tossing it gently.

The dog skittered after it.

"That's weird." he said, following his dog.

"He lives to please you." Anastasia called after him with a grin.

Pietor's voice was just heard as he spoke to his dog, grabbing the ball, hiding it behind his back and telling him to find another. Drake didn't move for a second, because he knew where the current ball was.

"I wonder how Wing did." Darkdoom said, putting an arm behind his head.

"David would have made sure he had fun." Anastasia said.

"Then again, he is a quiet, tall and very shy half-grown man." Iliana pointed out, with a shrug.

For a second everyone looked at her. Nero stopped a smile and slightly rolled his eyes.

"Man, you are so uptight." Iliana said, sounding grudging as if she had held that in a while. Nero straightened slightly and looked at her, an eyebrow raised.

"I'm not trying to be mean." Iliana said, putting up her hands "But like honestly. As far as I've seen, it's like students, students, students, students, then it's something else. Like dude, go lie on a beach somewhere. Take a week. Chillax.

Darkdoom started laughing and Anastasia smiled slightly, while rolling her eyes at Iliana.

"Nice suggestion." Nero said looking bemused, shooting his friend a look "But I have to work."

"Yeah, I guess you are the whole G.L.O.V.E. chazzam thing." Iliana muttered loud enough to be heard. "Hmm…" her phone vibrated and she grabbed it.

Raven was rolling her shoulder again.

"Are you alright?" Nero asked.

She nodded tensely "I've got a little ache. From where the bullet went. It's weird."

"How bad is it?" Nero asked.

"Not bad. Just uncomfortable. I was going to get something for it." Raven said, standing and grimacing slightly.

Nero stared after her in concern for a second, before turning back.

"Do you ever go hunting?" Iliana asked him, setting her elbows on her knees and leaning on them. Nero looked at her and slowly shook his head.

"Really? I could totally see you being a major animal hunter." Iliana said. She looked at Anastasia. "We used to go hunting. Why don't we anymore?"

"I think we will again once everything is done with here." Anastasia replied, scratching her neck.

"We should, cause that is fun." Iliana said, nodding seriously.

"What do you hunt?" Darkdoom asked.

"Mostly deer and birds." Iliana said, raising her arms excitedly "Alaska is my favorite place to hunt in."

"Really? In the United States?"

"No. The other Alaska." Iliana said as if he was the stupidest person ever. "Yes, the Alaska in the United States."

Darkdoom nodded with a slight thumbs up.

Raven walked back in with a capped syringe by her side in her hand. She sat down and pulled up her sleeve to reach her shoulder, then took the cap off the needle.

Iliana looked up, about to say something, then stopped, eyes shooting open and mouth gaping.

"Holy shit!" she shrieked, leaping off the couch and covering her mouth with both hands, eyes on Raven. Everyone stopped what they were doing, looking up in shock.

"What? What what what?" Raven exclaimed, looking around her quickly.

Iliana spun around for a second, trying to calm, but it failed apparently, because she turned to shove her way out the door.

Raven stared for a second, eyes wide.

"What the hell was that?" she asked. Nero and Darkdoom glanced at Anastasia, who looked unsettled for a second, before she spotted what had sent Iliana off.

"Oh." she chuckled weakly "Oh dear. Pietor!"

"What happened?" Raven asked, looking paranoid.

"Just a second. Pietor!" Anastasia called again.

There was a muffled call of "Yeah?"

"Can you come here?"

There was a moment of silence before Pietor trotted back down the stairs, with Drake right behind him. "What?"

"You might want to go get Iliana." she said, nodding her head sideways at Raven. Pietor glanced at her.

"Why-Oh." he also spotted the sight.

"Ya." Anastasia nodded. Raven still looked confused and edgy.

Pietor ran a hand through his hair as he walked to the door. He opened it and leaned out.

"Iliana!"

There wasn't a reply and he sighed/chuckled, walking out.

"So...what?" Raven demanded.

Anastasia turned back "Sorry." she laughed slightly "Iliana has an irrational fear of needles. Trypanophobia you could call it. So when she turned and saw _you_, getting ready to stab yourself with it, I think a fuse went off in her brain."

Raven stared for a second "Ooohhhh…" she frowned "Really?"

Anastasia nodded.

"I thought there was like a zombie behind us or something." Darkdoom said, letting out a big breath and glancing behind them still. Nero nodded.

"Needles?" Raven repeated. "Seriously?"

"Oh you'd be surprised." Anastasia said "It's bad. Real bad. She won't even get a flu shot. Or a blood draw. Nothing."

"Really?" Raven asked, still stuck on this. She shook her head "Why?"

Anastasia shrugged "But you'd better do that quickly before she comes back."

Raven nodded and went back to the syringe.

"_If _she comes back." Darkdoom pointed out with a slight smile. Anastasia sighed in amusement and nodded.

"There we go." Raven said, putting the cap back on. She still looked dumb-founded. "Like that didn't even hurt. What…_how_?"

Anastasia shook her head with a shrug "Curses of birth I guess."

The door opened and Pietor poked his head in.

"Iliana wants me to make sure that all needles, pens, and any sharp objects are now safely in storage. Thank you." he ducked back away.

Everyone chuckled and Raven rolled her eyes, standing up to throw the syringe away. She sat back down and after a second Pietor walked back in with a very tentative and very angry looking Iliana. She looked in between all them, scowling deeply.

"Umm….sorry?" Raven tried hopefully.

"What the hell?" Iliana asked, jerking her head forward "What were you doing?"

"Giving myself a-"

"Shh!" Iliana shushed her quickly. "Yeah, I know. You know, ding dong, there are doctors that can do that for you in a _doctor's office_."

"Yeah, but it's easier to do it my..self." Raven ended the last of her sentence quietly, eyes laughing.

"Yeah?" Iliana demanded "Hmmm? How about no? Uh uh. Nope. Never."

"So like…_this_…" Raven pretended to inject something in her arm. "..bugs you?"

Iliana craned her neck in discomfort. "Dooon't!"

Raven put her hands down quickly.

"Ah! God!" Iliana shook her head and Pietor patted her back with a shrug to everyone else.

"I still think you should go to therapy for that." Anastasia said.

"No!" Iliana exclaimed "Therapy's for the whacko people."

"Actually everyone could use a little therapy." Nero said helpfully.

"Be quiet!" Iliana snapped at him and he leaned back, as if carried by the force of her words, eyebrows raised and he smiled slightly.

"Oh…jeez…sorry…ah!" Iliana covered her ears.

**You had better be laughing.**

**I'm crying. Literally. One of my friends is leaving and they are one of my biggest idea givers. Guys…give a shout out to the Bracken family. They are most the reason I write. I love them with all my heart. Give me virtual love…please… :'-)**

**And…review…please…**

**Ugh! Getting my keyboard wet…**

**And now I need an idea for my next chapter cause this one is over.**


	31. Family Comes First

**Thank you for reviewing Kalage!**

**And this chapter will be short, but I will get another one soon!**

**And I might not keep this in the story. I just want to see how it feels.**

Pietor gripped the sheets of his bed, with both hands. Sweat beaded off his tense arms and he whipped his head back and forth. _Elena…_

His sister screamed as she let go of the monkey bars. Pietor smiled, but as the ground evaporated beneath her, his face turned to horror. The soft grass was replaced with a large cavern of water and Elena hit it with a splash.

Pietor looked around desperately, before flinging himself after her.

The water was paralyzingly cold and he struggled to swim forward, fingers going numb.

"Elena!" he screamed as another wave hit his face, making him cough violently. The water stung when it got into his eyes and he blinked constantly, trying to see clearly.

"Pietor!" came a wail. He looked over and saw Anastasia as she was swept along by the current. Her eyes were terrified and blood was dripping down her cheek. Her head disappeared beneath the black water and he went down after her.

Pietor thrashed in the bed, chest heaving up and down erractically.

He grabbed her wrist and brought her to the surface. Anastasia gasped as air reached her lungs again.

"Pietor, help…Elena..." she coughed "Let me go!"

"No!" Pietor shouted in horror.

"Save my sister!" Anastasia screamed, vanishing in his arms.

"Ana!" Pietor shrieked, sending him under the water again. He swam up to the surface quickly, gasping. It took him a moment to even open his eyes. The water was calming.

"Pietor…" a raspy voice came near him.

He looked all around quickly.

Anastasia floated in the water on her back, eyes halfway closed. Her mouth was open and she looked exhausted.

Pietor lunged forward and grabbed her. The cliff walls were coming to an end and he was able to drag her to the shore.

"Anastasia." he spluttered, pulling her farther onto the grass. She gurgled, but didn't speak.

Pietor helped her sit up and water spilled from her mouth. Her head fell onto his chest and a shudder passed through her body.

"I'm here, Ann." he murmured.

His sister didn't respond and he looked desperately at her face. It was pale and cold. Lifeless.

"Ana." Pietor begged "I saved you. You're alright. You're safe."

Her hand slipped out of his and she fell back, once again, fading into nothing.

###

Pietor jerked up in bed, chest heaving violently. He put a hand on his forehead. His neck and arms were slick with sweat and his covers were twisted every which way.

His door opened and he looked up.

"Pietor?" Anastasia said, standing in the doorway. She started walking over, hand holding her robe together. "Pietor, are you alright? I could hear you upstairs."

He struggled to breathe normally as she pivoted herself closer to him on the bed. He couldn't see her in the darkness.

"Hey." Anastasia touched his arm. "You're sweating."

Pietor let out one last breath and wiped his forehead "I'm fine."

"What happened?" she asked, running her fingernails through his hair. It sounded as if she knew, but wanted to hear him say it.

Pietor knew he could never tell her he had dreams of her death. Not that it would scare her, but it would give her plenty of anxiety she didn't need. For him.

"Nothing." he replied, heart rate coming to a normal pace. "It's okay."

Anastasia sighed softly and laid her head on his shoulder. Pietor put an arm around her as they laid down. She shuffled closer and tucked her head in his neck to sleep. His hand softly stroked her hair and she drifted into the comforting darkness.

Pietor stayed awake for a while, focusing on her breathing. It was steady and after a little while, he felt calm enough to close his eyes.

**He has dreams about the ones he loves most. Not a regular thing of course, just once in a while. Just remember anastasia did attempt suicide so that probably sticks in his mind...**

**So yeah…I might delete this. I don't know. Let me know! Is it too…screened? Like wow, that was *sarcastic* unpredictable.**


	32. Oh the Memories of Pain And the Future

**Please Review!**

**I really think Pietor has the capability to turn "evil" to protect Anastasia. Like Anakin Skywalker. If you watch the third Star Wars and replace Obi-Wan with Nero and Anakin with Pietor and Padme with Anastasia, it works well. Or Padme can be Iliana…do it people. AHHHH! But that won't happen. Probably. I have too many alternate endings for this story! AHH! HELP!**

**11:30 am the next morning…**

"The kids are still sleep." Darkdoom said, smiling "That really must have been some party last night."

"Or they drank a ton of caffeine and didn't go to sleep until two." Raven said, rolling her eyes. Darkdoom glanced at her and Nero looked up from the map spread out on the bed. They were in Raven's room upstairs. Anastasia had driven with Pietor to work for some unreason.

"Are you being serious?" Nero asked. "They stayed up until two?"

She nodded unenthusiastically. "Kept me up for a bit until I went and shushed them up."

Nero rolled his eyes "Even Wing?"

Raven nodded again "Yeah. Although he was still his normal calm self." she perked up "Speaking of which, did anyone hear those like…"

"Yells last night?" Nero asked, glancing back up at her. He'd wondered the same things himself and now Raven mentioned it.

"Yeah." her face was confused as she looked at Darkdoom "You?"

He shook his head "Nope."

"They sounded…" Raven trailed off again. "Was that…Pietor?" she asked Nero.

"I don't know." he said "They sounded a bit like him…but…"

"You all are loony." Darkdoom said "I didn't hear anything."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Nero agreed, looking back down at the map. Raven didn't say anything.

Honestly, she had gotten out of bed last night and seen Anastasia go down to her brother's room. What was that all about? Pietor wasn't someone she'd ever think to have nightmares.

"Just a second." Raven said, going to the door. Nero didn't reply as he stared at the map, but as she was out the door he glanced up.

###

Raven walked down the stairs and towards the door that would lead her to the other half of the Furan's place. Where the old children dormitories were.

What was with her?

Every so often she just felt drawn to it. Each time though, the outcome was the same. She started to feel sick and just had to get out.

Raven went swiftly up the stairs to the hall that divided into the rooms. She just felt so confused.

If she had only ever met this Pietor and Anastasia Furan, she would almost believe they were simply tough and kind siblings. But she couldn't think like that.

Anastasia had killed Dimitri and Pietor had beaten her countless times.

And sometimes, she could almost believe they felt bad and were trying to make it up. Pietor was being rather kind, especially for him and Anastasia was acting like a normal nice woman.

Had they always been capable of this? Were all those years a mask? Or was this a mask?

Raven walked into her old dormitory and stopped.

The beds and blankets all seemed exactly the same as the day she had left. Or more accurately, been captured.

Maybe the Furans had just been blinded at the time, like Iliana had said. But she couldn't bring herself to use that as justification. As a child, they had seemed nothing but cruel and heartless. Now…coming back and learning that Anastasia had attempted suicide was very…

Raven went and touched the bed she had occupied so many nights of her young life.

And what of David and Iliana? Iliana obviously knew about their past. Did David?

She sat down on the mattress, eyes squinted.

"Natalya." a hand shook her shoulder.

"Natalya, Dimitri's gone." Tolya said.

"_Gone_? What do you mean gone?" Natalya said irritably.

The light died from his eyes, but a flash of recognition sent waves of guilt through her. She yanked out the katana and looked back at Anastasia Furan.

_Magnificent girl_

Raven clenched the sheet and let out a gasp.

_What a terrible waste…of a bullet._

_Natalya please get up! We have to run!_

"Miss?" a hand shook her shoulder, then more violently "Miss?"

This was real. Raven snapped open her eyes to see a tall, young man bending over her. He had on a uniform with a gun and tranquilizer strapped around his waist.

"Are you alright?" he asked, a hand still on her shoulder.

It took Raven a second before she realized she was on the ground and he was over her, looking concerned.

"Miss?" he repeated.

Raven reached back to scratch her neck and sat up. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."

He leaned back to stand up and she did the same. Now that they were on their feet, his face hardened a bit.

"What are you doing here?"

Raven brought in a deep breath "I just came for a look around."

"Well Sir Furan said that no one is allowed back here. Particularly you guests." he growled. He nodded towards the door "You need to leave."

For a second, Raven felt like fighting it. He didn't have the right to tell her what to do. But she still felt a little dizzy and simply gave a brisk nod.

She walked out of the door and he followed her up until the stairs. She went down them quickly and started heading back towards the main building part.

Why had she fallen? That hadn't happened before.

_It was just the heat. It was hotter up there _she told herself.

Now, reality was coming back and she realized in a rush that Max was here with her still. And the students and Darkdoom. The Furans weren't treating them bad at all. Everything was alright.

Raven went back through the door and walked past the couches. She tilted her head as she stopped at the bottom of the stairs. There was piano music coming from upstairs. Playing softly and a repeated melody.

Raven slowly walked up the stairs and turned toward Anastasia's room. She slowly peeked open the door.

There was a man sitting on the piano bench next to the piano in Anastasia's room, which she had had no idea about. He was playing the song and singing words along it.

"What would I do without your smart mouth. Drawing me in, and you kicking me out. You got my head spinning, no kidding, I can't pin you down."

Raven slowly walked over, a slight smile tugging at her lips.

"What's going on in that beautiful mind? I'm on your magical mystery ride. And I'm soooo dizzy, don't know what hit me, but I'll be alright." David sang. Raven walked around the piano until he could see her. He glanced up and smiled with a slight bob of his eyebrows "My head's under-water. But I'm breathing fine….You're crazy and I'm out of my mind. 'Cause aaallll of me. Loves aaallll of you. Love your curves and all your edges. All your perfect imperfections."

Raven smiled as she sat down next to him. He played the piano gracefully while accompanying himself with the lyrics.

"Give your all to me. I'll give my all to you. You're my end and my beginning. Even when I lose I'm winning." David looked at her, eyes warm and opened his mouth "Cause I give you aaaall…of me. And you give me aaaall…of you, oho."

"How many times do I have to tell you? Even when you're crying you're beautiful too. The world is beating you down, I'm around through every mood. You're my downfall, you're my muse. My worst distraction, my rhythm and blues. I can't stop singing, it's ringing, in my head for you."

"My head's under water  
But I'm breathing fine  
You're crazy and I'm out of my mind

'Cause all of me  
Loves all of you  
Love your curves and all your edges  
All your perfect imperfections  
Give your all to me  
I'll give my all to you  
You're my end and my beginning  
Even when I lose I'm winning  
'Cause I give you all of me  
And you give me all of you, ohoh

Give me all of you  
Cards on the table, we're both showing hearts  
Risking it all, though it's hard

'Cause all of me  
Loves all of you  
Love your curves and all your edges  
All your perfect imperfections  
Give your all to me  
I'll give my all to you  
You're my end and my beginning  
Even when I lose I'm winning  
'Cause I give you all of me  
And you give me all of you

I give you all of me  
And you give me all of you, ohoh."

He slowly pulled his hands off the keys and let them up. Raven was still smiling.

But it wasn't in amusement, or maliciousness. It was genuine happiness.

**Alright. No. They do not end up kissing. I just thought it was a nice reminder that Raven's past is not the future. And you know, David didn't know Raven would come in, so…**

**I don't know. I liked it. David is so kind. Humbly kind.**

**And I ship Naven as well so don't be mad if no likie.**

**Oh and guys. If you go and read the first couple chapters again. Gabdin IS Iliana's Father. :) step father of course. It is crazy.**


	33. The Wraith?

**Please review!**

**Flash forward. Another one. Oh sigh. Why can't my brain just zap the whole story onto the page?**

"Pietor!" Anastasia yelled, taking off after him. Nero, Raven, and Wing followed, then Darkdoom and the Colonel. They shoved their way out the doors to the Convit building.

Pietor was running almost inhumanely possible towards the ship that was taking off.

Anastasia swore under her breath, an unusual thing to hear from her. Nero stared after the assassin, fury in his eyes. It was rare to see such anger on his face like that, which led all of them around him to leave space.

The ship started to lift into the air and Pietor leaped after it, screaming in pure rage. He landed on the boarding ramp and the man on the ship turned in shock. Pietor leaped at him with every intention of killing.

The man, already hanging onto the latch to keep his balance, kicked out, sending Pietor flying back into the air. He watched as the assassin hit the ground and nodded slightly at the pilot to continue. It had only been a few yards. Pietor would be fine.

Anastasia and the others started running again towards him.

Pietor got to his feet, shouting after the ship. His side bled from the knife wound he had sustained in the earlier fight. His fists were clenched as he yelled as loud as he could into the air in frustration and fury.

Anastasia ran up to him and grabbed his arm. It was slick with sweat and blood from his fall. He glared as the ship disappeared into the clouds.

"Pietor. It won't bring her back." Anastasia said softly. He looked at her and saw that she was just as furious.

###

**Present day**

**Oh and uhh…I'm not exactly sure how many years the students have been at H.I.V.E. Two years? Or is this all their first year? I am acting like it is their second, k?**

**Later that day…David went to work.**

Shelby dodged around Drake as he leaped at her playfully. She ran around the couches and he chased her.

Laura, who sitting on the actual couch they were running around, looked very nervous. Wing sat next to her, watching Shelby with a straight face.

Drake crouched down, tail waving as he tried to keep Shelby still. He growled playfully, tongue hanging.

When he was sure the student was going to stay, he went and leaped up next to Nero and Darkdoom, who were sitting on the couch. The dog licked at their faces and they leaned away, grimacing. Raven chuckled from her spot in the chair a few feet away.

Drake growled and went to jump up next to her. He sniffed all through her hair, making it stick up in certain spots. Raven covered her face and he struggled until he was halfway on her back, still sniffing all around her. Shelby went to run and the dog used Raven as a spring board to jump after her. The assassin grunted and straightened her back.

The door swung open from the door that led outside. Drake barked twice and ran over to Iliana who came in. Anastasia walked in after her and slid past as the woman in front started to pet the dog. Iliana looked extremely tired and rather sick.

Anastasia set her stuff down with a wave "Hi." she said breathlessly.

"What's wrong with Iliana?" Raven asked surreptitiously with a gesture at her.

"I am a freaking woman!" Iliana said loudly. She stomped over and sat down, patting Drake as he followed her.

Raven just stared for a second as did the men. Wing and Laura weren't really paying attention and Shelby walked over.

Iliana looked at Raven "What?"

"Uhh..."

"I'm sure _you've _had cramps that suck before." Iliana growled. She laid back and put a hand on her stomach. "Ahhhghh…this is why women have such a higher pain tolerance than men."

Raven pressed her lips together and did not say anything. Darkdoom was silently laughing and Nero still had that "Uhh…" look on his face.

Anastasia came over. "You're so tactful."

"What do you expect?" Iliana groaned.

"Well you took medicine so shut up."

"I hate you sometimes." Iliana said.

"That's alright."

"Pietor has sympathy for me." Iliana said, sticking out her tongue.

"I'm sure he does. He grew up with two sisters. And I'm not being unsympathetic." Anastasia argued "Just stop whining."

"When will he get home…?" Iliana moaned.

"Soon, dear."

"Text him."

"My phones dead, dear."

Iliana groaned and rolled her eyes. She pointed a finger at Raven "You text him. You have a phone."

"I don't have his number." Raven said, smacking her lips dully.

Iliana held out her hand. Then she smiled.

"So he doesn't have your number either?"

"No."

"Okay. Text him and don't tell him it's you. Just say 'Hi there, smiley face'." Iliana grinned "See what he does."

Raven hesitated a second, then gave her phone to the woman, almost smiling. She typed in the number and handed it back to Raven, who started texting something else. Anastasia glanced at it and chuckled silently, shaking her head.

**Raven: **_Hi there ;-)_

"Now we wait." Iliana said, leaning back and folding her arms. There was silence for a moment, then there was an exhilarating vibration of Raven's phone. She unlocked it and checked.

**Pietor:** _Hi Natalya._

Everyone in the room went "Awwww…" in disappointment.

"Creep. How'd he know it was me." Raven growled.

**Raven: **_How you know it me?_

Pause and more pause.

**Pietor: **_:-]_

"Ah." Raven said, scowling at her phone.

"What?" Iliana asked.

"I asked him how he knew it was me and he sent back a smiley face." Raven said. Iliana leaned over.

"Weirdo." she muttered, smiling.

"Are you sure he didn't have your number?" Anastasia asked.

"I'm positive. When would he have gotten it?"

Anastasia shrugged.

There was a faint rumble of the gates opening outside, and Drake trotted over to the door.

"Looks like you won't have long to find out." Anastasia said as the sound of the engine stopped. They waited a few seconds and Drake pattered next to the door eagerly.

Pietor unlocked and came in the door. The dog crouched, tail whipping back and forth.

"Hey!" Pietor said, holding out his arms. Drake whipped around and ran to Anastasia excitedly.

"Welcome home." she said, tilting her head away from the bouncing animal.

"Creep." Raven said.

"Creep?" Pietor said, setting down his stuff and scowling at her.

"How did you know it was me texting you?"

"Oh. Yeah, I didn't. I just took a guess. Then you proved it for me." Pietor said with a casual shrug.

"Darn. You were supposed to be creeped out." Raven said.

"Sorry to disappoint you?" he said, tilting his head curiously. "Anyway." he looked at Iliana "Are you still dying?"

"Less so." Iliana said, letting out a big, huge, pitiful sigh.

"If you didn't complain so much, you'd probably be even better." Anastasia muttered, then smiled.

"Growl." Iliana said, standing up "Alright, I'm going to David's."

"I will see you there later tonight." Pietor said.

"What for?" Anastasia asked.

"Going to watch some American football!" Pietor said.

"Oh boy." Anastasia turned to toss her white coat on the couch.

"David said _everyone _should come over." Pietor said, looking at Raven.

"Why you looking at me?" Raven snapped.

Pietor put his hands up "Ahpst! Calma down."

"_Why_?"

"I didn't." Pietor said.

"Yes you did." Raven clapped her hands together "Did David say something about me?"

"This coming from the girl who rejects all kinds of girl talk." Iliana said.

Raven glared at her and she glared back.

"Well you do! I don't know what it is with you lady, but maybe nobody ever stands up to you where you come from because you have a serious attitude problem. So you know what? _I'm _standing up to you." Iliana said "I mean like no offense, you're awesome and everything, but that doesn't matter cause you can't even go and talk to a guy you like!" she stood up and went towards the door. "I hope to see you all tonight. Goodbye!"

They watched her leave and then looked back at Raven, who sat, mouth open and rigid as a rock.

"I think your rank just went from here." Pietor held up a hand to his chest "To about there." he pointed at the ground.

###

"You know, I'm still not sure what she meant by that whole girl talk thing." Raven growled a little bit later.

Anastasia smiled, without looking up from her phone. Nero and Darkdoom didn't have a response either. Pietor was in the kitchen, feeding Drake.

"Hello?" Raven asked.

""I'm sure she didn't mean anything, Natalya." Anastasia said peaceably.

"But _you_ know she did." Raven said.

"She just likes to give people a hard time." Anastasia said.

"A hard time about _what_?"

"The fact that you're not a girly girl." Darkdoom said "That's all she meant." he smiled. Raven scowled. Pietor came back out of the kitchen and went to lay down on his couch with a big, tired sigh.

"Are you saying I can't be a girly girl?" Raven challenged.

"Yes." Pietor said, without looking up.

"You don't even know what we're talking about." Raven growled.

"I answered the question though."

"I think if you dressed up and make-upped your face, you could be considered a girly-girl." Shelby said, kindly. Anastasia chuckled, but she didn't say anything.

Raven pressed her lips together "I am being mocked."

"Oh no I wasn't laughing at you." Anastasia said, standing up "The fact that she said make-up is funny, because you're one of those people that don't need any."

"Well that's true, but if she like wore mascara and eyeliner, do you know how many guys would come for her? More than already do." Shelby said, smiling.

"At _H.I.V.E._?" Raven asked.

"No. Here." Shelby said "Helllloooooo. David."

Raven narrowed her eyes and Anastasia smiled, turning to go up the stairs.

"How about it?" Shelby asked.

"How about _what_?" Raven growled.

"Mascara?"

"No." Raven said. "Thanks."

"I get you to put some on. When we go over to David's, I can ask Iliana and she will hook me up."

"Don't tell me the Wraith is into girly things." Raven said, flipping her a look.

Shelby folded her arms.

"What did you just call her?" Pietor asked, from his spot lying down on the couch.

"The Wraith." Raven said "The little je-"

"Wait wait wait wait." Pietor interrupted, sitting up. "_The _Wraith or _a _wraith?"

Raven scowled "_The _Wraith."

Pietor looked at Shelby, head tilted and eyes narrowed. Nero and Darkdoom watched the exchange, looking confused and curious.

"What?" Shelby asked, self-consciously.

"_I _was sent to capture the Wraith." Pietor said, pointing at himself. "The one who stole those millions of dollars' worth of jewels."

"What?" Nero, Raven, and Shelby asked, eyes wide.

"Yeah. About two years ago. Then you just disappeared." Pietor said, with a slight smile on his face.

"Sent by whom?" Nero asked, frowning.

"Gabdin. He was ordered by the president of course. The whole Convit was on your tail." he went on, still looking a little belligerent. "Alright." he nodded "Curiosity satisfied."

"No wait wait. Why were they after me?" Shelby asked.

"They wanted to find where you had all the jewels so they could bargain with America." Pietor said.

Shelby's mouth dropped.

"Luckily they took to H.I.V.E. when they did." Pietor said, eyes looking amusedly dangerous.

"But you wouldn't have found me." Shelby said, "I left no traces. The Americans couldn't track me down."

"I did." Pietor said, smiling.

Shelby's face stretched "That's creepy."

"I'm sorry." Pietor said, not sounding at all sorry. He picked at his fingernails casually. "Wow."

"How did you find me?" Shelby asked.

"I'm not telling you that." Pietor growled, still slightly smiling. "Man, you caused me like three months of lectures from two people."

"I'm sorry." Shelby said, mocking his earlier apology.

"You are so lucky." Pietor said, ignoring her and shaking his head.

"Why is she lucky?" Anastasia asked, walking back down the stairs.

"Well the Wraith is in this room." Pietor said, leaning back against his seat.

Anastasia looked at Raven after a second, who shook her head and pointed at Shelby. She frowned.

"Really?"

"For serious." Pietor said.

"The one Gabdin was obsessed with finding?" Anastasia said, with the same look as her brother.

"The very same."

"Alright. This is awesome." Shelby said, leaning back dramatically.

Nero looked at her.

"Awesome? Oh kid, you are incredibly lucky you were not taken back to the Convit." Pietor said.

"Why?" Shelby asked "I think that would ha-"

"Been terrible. You should have seen some of the stuff they had planned." Pietor growled.

"Don't freak her out." Anastasia said "When they found out she was a thirteen year-old kid, it's not like they could have done much."

"Are you kidding? _Gabdin_?" Pietor demanded.

"Ooohhhh yeah. He was still alive." Anastasia muttered and sucked a breath through her teeth.

"I want to hear this." Shelby said "I want to hear what they would have done."

"No." Pietor said, eyes wide while he shook his head.

"Why not?" Shelby asked indignantly.

"I don't want to give you nightmares."

"So they would have killed me." Shelby asked, not sounding that impressed.

"Think that." Pietor said "Put your mind at rest."

"So they wouldn't have killed me?" Shelby pressed.

"Not right…away." Pietor said slowly.

Shelby again gaped at him.

"Then what?" she exclaimed.

"Alright, Shelby." Nero said "I don't think you need to hear anything of the sort."

"I've seen some pretty awful things in my life." Shelby said.

"Join the club." Pietor said "You're still not going to get anything from me."

"Dude!" Shelby complained.

"Shelby, when I say something's going to freak you out, trust me, it's gonna."

"He's usually right about that." Anastasia admitted.

"I want to know!" Shelby said in frustration.

"If I told you, I'm positive you'd want to go back to H.I.V.E. because you wouldn't want to sit in the same room with me ever again." Pietor said.

"Why?" Shelby asked. Raven tilted her head.

"BecaushIwhouldperforhomtheextrashion." Pietor muttered quietly.

"Eh?" Shelby asked, leaning forward.

"No! Never mind. I'm not saying anything!" Pietor replied "You saw what he did to her." he pointed at Raven.

Shelby looked at her "Yeah and she's fine."

"Gabdin didn't want anything from her." Pietor pointed out. "He's just kind of a jerk."

"Dude, this is going to bug me forever." Shelby groaned.

"Don't think about it." Pietor said "Let's get going to David's."

###

Later that night, the men were in the basement watching the American football game. All the women were upstairs, gathered around the table to talk and the students were down with the men.

Iliana took a sip from her bottle of beer, smiling. Anastasia had a glass of wine, while Raven had water.

**(Next couple paragraphs, courtesy of sailorraven and ravengail.)**

"I feel like I never go any place warm." Iliana said.

"Hmm…" Anastasia frowned "You know…now that I think about it, the last time I went anywhere was with you, Pietor and David."

"Diablous was talking about taking his submarine to the Bahamas." Raven said "That's warm."

"He's got a submarine?" Iliana asked incredulously. "What is with you rich people?"

Raven glanced at her "Yes. I forgot what it's called, but the captain was sort of cute. He was a nice gentleman anyway."

"You had best just stick with the one you got, my dear." Anastasia said with a half-smile. Iliana giggled.

Raven frowned and narrowed her eyes. "What? Oh my goodness. Why is it that everyone thinks we're…"

"It's just the way it started out, okay?" Iliana said still smiling.

The men downstairs started yelling all the sudden.

"What the heck?" Raven said, turning.

"Oh their just screaming at the football players." Anastasia said, waving a hand.

It was mainly Pietor shouting, but there was one other.

"Is that Max?" Iliana asked in amusement. Raven listened for a second, then nodded and raised her eyebrows.

"Go! GO! GO! Move your damn legs!" Pietor was yelling.

Neither David nor Darkdoom were making a sound as far as anyone could hear, but Nero and Pietor were loud enough for all four of them.

"I never thought Max was competitive like that." Anastasia said.

There was loud "OOHHHH" of disappointment from downstairs.

"Oh come on!" Pietor shouted. And you could just imagine him, throwing his arms down in frustration "My _sister_ can go faster than you, moron!"

Both Raven and Iliana laughed. Anastasia rolled her eyes.

David came jogging up the stairs, chuckling and shaking his head. He went over to the fridge and got out a four-pack of beer.

"Well how's it going?" Iliana asked.

"Oh just dandy." David said, smiling.

"Yeah you wanna tell Pietor that no, I probably couldn't run faster than whoever was on the T.V." Anastasia said.

"I'll try." David said with a grin, stopping at the top of the stairs. "Him and Max are now arguing down there."

"Really?" Raven asked.

"Are you kidding they're both stubborn as bulls." David said with a wink at her. He walked down the stairs.

"She's blushing!" Iliana squealed. Anastasia smiled at Raven, whose cheeks had turned a very bright red.

###

David dealt out the deck of cards all around the table. Pietor and Nero had only just stopped arguing when he suggested the whole group play a card game.

"I have never played a game with a _normal _deck of cards." Shelby said "It's usually a specific game."

"Well no better time to learn." David said and started explaining the rules of the game they were playing.

After a couple of minutes, Shelby gave up on the rules and just decided to wing it, elbowing Wing as she said that. They started playing the game.

When they were in a couple rounds, when Shelby and Laura got stuck.

"Okay." David said "So you can ask for up to three new cards, give up two cards and continue playing with three cards, draw a new card and give up one or trade one card for a secret one."

Shelby stared at him a second. "Okay."

"Or give up." Raven said.

"No. No, we don't give up." David said, smiling.

"I give up." Shelby said, setting down her cards. "Can we go play that thing on your T.V.?"

"Sure." David said "Do you need help to set it up?"

"No I think I'm good. Want to come Brand and Fanchu?"

"Yeah." Laura said. Wing shrugged and got up to go with them into the living room.

"Does he ever talk?" David asked, watching Wing for a second, then glancing back at Raven and Nero.

"He does." Raven said "Sometimes."

"He talks when you talk to him." Nero said "Otherwise he's pretty silent."

"Yeah. He was quiet at the party. He didn't like the taffy either." David said "But he and Shelby had fun."

"Aren't they adorable?" Iliana asked.

Raven and Nero shared a look of amusement.

"They are." David agreed.

"Hey, Winston." Anastasia said, nudging Pietor "Your take."

"It's not my turn." he protested "It's yours. I just went."

"Oh…haha…whoops." Anastasia threw in a card.

"Winston?" Raven asked, scowling "What was that?"

"Uhh…his middle name." Anastasia said, looking up.

"You have a middle name?" Raven asked Pietor, head tilted.

"Uh huh." he said "Is that weird?"

"That's really weird!" she exclaimed.

Pietor stopped fiddling with his cards and looked at her. "Why?"

"Winston?" Darkdoom asked, looking curious.

"Isn't it so cute?" Iliana asked, wrinkling her nose like she did when she was excited.

"Cute?" Pietor asked.

"Yeah you know. It's like Pietor-roar! Winston-awww….Furan-errrrr…." Iliana said, smiling. She rubbed his hair the wrong way.

"Exactly." Raven said.

"Yeah." Pietor ran a hand back through his hair.

"Winston takes all your toughness away." Iliana said. He scowled, but allowed a tiny smile to brighten his face a bit.

"Well Ann's middle name is May. Does that her toughness away?" he asked sarcastically.

"Awww….really?" Iliana asked in adoration "I didn't know that." she smiled dreamily.

"Yep. Anastasia May Furan." Anastasia said. Raven looked at her, a strangely warm expression on her face.

"Yeah, how come your parents named you firstly all intimidating, then softened you up?" Iliana asked.

"I don't think Winston softens me up at all." Pietor objected grumpily.

"Then how come it's not common knowledge?" Iliana asked, leaning towards him "Because it's so _cute_!"

"Wait what was Elena's middle name?" David asked.

It was a small, almost imperceptible movement, but Nero's head moved slightly at the mention of that name.

"Elizabeth." Anastasia said "Two e's in a row."

"But see her first name was already softened. Then a soft middle name, _then _comes her fierceness." Iliana said.

"What is it with you and names?" Pietor asked.

Raven looked at Nero's face, surprised that it was rather filled with fondness.

Pietor's phone vibrated in his pocket and he pulled it out. He grumbled.

"Why can't people leave me alone!" he growled.

"Who is it?" David asked.

"Alex's friend that has the mental problems."

"She does not." David said, then turned "Wait does she?"

Pietor just growled and answered it. He stood and walked into the living room.

"Sometimes I feel like he hates this job and other times, I think he loves it." Iliana said.

"Are you kidding?" David asked "Ever since he became first counselor, it has been like crazy Pietor most the days."

"Really?" Anastasia asked in amusement.

"Yeah. Like I left to go and get something and when I came back to my office, Pietor was on top of my desk, dancing to music Iliana was playing."

"That was _fun_." Iliana said.

"That actually really was." David agreed.

"You guys should come to lunch there tomorrow." Iliana suggested "Pietor and I like to walk around the halls and mock people."

They looked at her for a second.

"Okay, not literally." Iliana went on "We don't say anything to their faces. We just…kind of…watch."

"It's okay." Anastasia said "Pietor and I do it too."

"Really?" Iliana smiled "Isn't Pietor hilarious? Like when we were walking down the hall, these two people were holding hands and Pietor clasped his hands together and was like 'awww...love' but then when we passed a different couple that was making out, he makes a face. Because of course, that's not love!" she rolled her eyes.

"Do you guys ever do any work?" Anastasia asked.

"Yes! This is our lunch break." Iliana said irritably.

"Sometimes." David pointed out "Sometimes you and Pietor are still roaming the halls when everybody is working."

"Yeah. That is true." Iliana admitted grudgingly "But we have fun! So no harm done."

"Hey, by the way." David said, turning to Anastasia "How do you think Pietor would react to being the basketball coach for the kids again?"

"I think he would snap your twig." Anastasia said.

"That's what I thought." David said "No, but really. He did it last year-"

"And said he was never going to do it again!" Iliana said, trying to sound like Pietor.

"I know, but I think he liked it." David said.

"I think he'll do it if you play up on his ego a bit." Anastasia suggested.

"Well he is good at it." David said.

"Except for when he gets his team technicals for calling the ref. some choice words." Iliana said, smiling at some unseen memory.

Everybody at the table laughed.

"That was the bomb." Iliana went on.

"Oh here he comes." David said "I'll try to take it slow."

Anastasia nodded.

Pietor walked back over to the table, with a sigh and took his seat. "I really hate talking to people."

"On behalf of this table, thank you." Iliana said sarcastically.

"Alright. _Most _people." Pietor corrected.

They started playing the game again and after a second David spoke.

"I'm starting up the basketball teams again this year." he said "I'm coaching the boy's team."

Anastasia looked at Pietor from the corner of her eye, but his expression didn't change at all.

"I need someone for the girl's team." David went on, a smile creeping over his face "Someone…oh strong and tall. Competitive maybe."

Everyone was glancing at Pietor, who still wasn't responding in anyway.

"Smart and systematic." David kept on going "Athletic, good at teaching sports, funny, hardworking." he sighed "If only I could find somebody like that. You know, someone who's coached before."

Pietor drew a new card and set down one.

"Oh my God, Pietor." Anastasia said.

"What? You think I'm ignoring him on accident?" Pietor replied, shooting her a look.

David smiled at him.

"Umm…no David." Pietor said "I'm not coaching again."

"Come on. You and the girls loved it last year." David pressed.

"No we didn't! If you haven't noticed, I'm kind of a jerk and they didn't like me."

"Then why did they ask me to get you back this year?" David queried. "Because they loved you!"

"That's disgusting and no they didn't. Why can't I coach the boy's team? Why is it always the girl's?"

"I don't know. You just seem like the perfect guy to train a team of girls. Because you have sisters and yet you're still tough." David replied.

"No."

David hit the table, making it vibrate slightly "Come on, Pietor!"

"I'm not even a good coach! Do you know how many techanicals I get my team? Because the referees are idiots!" Pietor exclaimed.

"See and you're protective." David said, smiling "You get mad when they rip on your girls."

Pietor folded his arms "No."

"I'll weedle you down."

**Oh hey so who thinks ELENA is pronounced as**

**Elayna**

**Helena without the "H"**

**Or Ellena**

**I am 2 or 3. NOT Elayna. I do love that name, but it doesn't fit with Max.**

**Okay: Next Chapter: This is just to help me out. Won't make sense to you guys. :)**

**Lunch/Convit**

**Bball team stuff**

**Melatonin**

**HG**

**BH6**

**V and Raven**

**Meet A**

**Maybe Just D**

**Please review! Give me funny ideas! And come on Guests! You are important too! If you like H.I.V.E. at least give a shout out for it!**


	34. Basketball Please

**Please Review! By the way, the guy I like actually held my hand. :)**

**Has everyone watched old family videos before? You know like how it just skips from date to date? Yeah, remember that here please. :)**

**Present day-the night after they got home from David's.**

"So you know where the President will be?" Anastasia asked, slowly pacing in front of her bed. Pietor nodded. He was sitting on the bed, looking at papers.

"Are you certain he'll be at the building that night?" Anastasia checked.

"Yes. He is meeting David and I for a meeting."

"He will be guarded though, won't he?" Anastasia asked.

"I am assuming." Pietor said "If not, that will make it all the easier. We can attack him quickly and get it over with."

Anastasia shook her head. "I fear it won't be as easy as that."

"Ann." Pietor said, standing up and putting a hand on her arm "It's David and I. Everything will be fine."

**The next morning.**

"So we're going out to lunch today, right?" Shelby checked, lounging over the couches arm chair.

"Right." Anastasia replied. The student let out a trill of rather mischievous laughter. Nero looked at her, eyes narrowed.

"Why?"

"Why not?" Shelby countermanded, smiling.

"You know, Shelby. There are times when nobody feels like they could ever trust you." Raven said.

"I'm trustworthy." Shelby protested. "I'm just excited to see new things."

"I feel like you've seen plenty of new things for your age." Raven said.

"So why spoil a perfect record?" Shelby asked.

The door to the other main part of the base opened and a guard walked in. Anastasia's eyes narrowed slightly and she got up to walk over to him. He said something quietly and after a second, she nodded.

The guard left and she walked back over.

"Is anything wrong?" Nero asked.

"Oh no. No. Alex, the Convit's defense leader is here to talk with Pietor. Although, he is also Pietor's friend so he could just come in the other door." Anastasia said, scowling slightly at the unseen man.

After a couple of seconds, a tall, broad-chested man came in the door. He had brown hair that was neatly shaved and his face was taut and emotionless.

"Hello, Alex." Anastasia said politely.

The man looked slightly over and gave a slight nod.

"Pietor's just in the kitchen."

He nodded again and went into the kitchen, without a word.

"Eeesh." Laura muttered.

"What's with him?" Raven asked, looking after him.

"He's just so…anti-social." Anastasia explained "And rather…"

"Serious?" Darkdoom said helpfully. She nodded.

There were a few moments of silence, before Alex came back out and said nothing before his departure.

**(I needed to introduce him, sorry.)**

###

Anastasia opened the door to the Convit building and the others followed her in. Shelby was tingling with excitement. They walked down the hall toward the cafeteria. Raven walked in between both Nero and Darkdoom, her height now seeming even more deduced.

When they turned the corner, they spotted Pietor and David halfway down the hall, walking side by side and talking. Pietor was motioning with his hands and David seemed to be trying to copy, but was having a ridiculous time at it.

"Hey!" Anastasia called and they glanced, then turned, around. David waved and Pietor whacked him playfully across the chest as they walked down.

"Hi." Pietor said, as David held out a hand to high-five Shelby.

"You look excited." he commented, smiling at her.

"I love this place." Shelby replied.

"Yeah, let's nuke it." Pietor replied.

"Where's Iliana?" Anastasia asked.

"Probably waiting at a table." Pietor said, pointing a thumb back.

"You made her get a table?" Darkdoom asked, smiling.

"She volunteered." Pietor said, pointing a finger knowingly.

"Then we should go join her so she's not a lone lonely loner." David suggested.

"That's a lot of aloneness." Pietor replied as they turned to continue down the way they had come.

###

"Oh! Finally!" Iliana growled as the group walked up. She tilted her head back and forth to pop her neck. "I have been waiting _forever_."

"Well, we're here now." Pietor said.

"He means sorry for taking so long." David said and Iliana nodded.

"I ordered pizza for us." she said "It should be here at any moment."

"Oh great." Pietor said "I am so excited."

"I haven't had pizza for so long!" Shelby exclaimed, hitting her hands on a table.

###

Shelby took another slice of pizza from the four boxes that Iliana had ordered, each with ten slices of in them.

"Don't you think you ordered a lot of pizza?" Anastasia asked, looking down at all the boxes.

"Umm…you can never have too much pizza." Iliana said. Shelby held up her hand and they high-fived.

"You do remember you're supposed to be off sugar, right?" Pietor asked Iliana, who groaned.

"I _know_. That's why I ordered pizza because it doesn't have added sugar." she said.

"It does in the dough." Pietor said and Iliana dropped her piece of pizza.

"Shit." she spat, then covered her mouth "I mean…uhh…shoot."

Everyone chuckled.

"What?" Pietor asked her.

"There are children here." Iliana said. "Sorry, guys. Bad influence here."

"They've been living with Pietor, I'm sure they've heard worse." David said, smiling at his friend.

"Hey! I don't swear. Usually." Pietor replied, scowling indignantly.

"Nope. Just the d and h word." Iliana said, taking a bite of her pizza.

"Hell and damn are not swear words." Pietor said and everyone laughed "Hell is a place and damn is something a…a…" he looked up for a second.

"A beaver makes?" Darkdoom said.

"Beaver! I couldn't even think of the English word for that." Pietor replied. "Besides I'm not the one who swears. You should be looking thata way." he pointed at Anastasia.

"What?" Anastasia asked, looking up, eyes wide. "Me?"

"Yes you." Pietor replied and everyone looked at her.

"What are you talking about?" Anastasia asked. He narrowed his eyes slightly at her and after a second she dawned.

"Oh yeah." she smiled sheepishly.

"What what what?" Iliana asked.

"Uhh…she yelled and swore at me with some rather…_undesirable _words." Pietor replied, flipping her a look.

"What?" Iliana asked as Anastasia put up a hand to cover her face, still grinning "Like how bad?"

"As bad as it gets." Pietor growled, nodding, lips pressed together. Iliana covered her mouth. Darkdoom chuckled while Raven raised her eyebrows. Nero and David both made the "Oh no." amused face.

"Well, he was being a little son of a b for a while." Anastasia said, skimming her hand over his hair, smiling. "He shaped up after it. It was good for him."

"Excuse me?" Pietor asked, turning to look at her. She wrapped and arm around him and pulled him close for a second to show a bit of love.

"I hope you seriously repented." Iliana said, voice shrill with laughter.

"He did." Anastasia nodded and everyone laughed at the table.

"Yeah yeah. Get your hands off me." Pietor said, ducking out from his sister's arm. She took it back, still smiling.

"See and I've never sworn at her." Pietor said, matter of factly.

"But you used to yell a lot." Anastasia said.

"Who yelled at who?" Pietor demanded and they started arguing.

Music suddenly started playing to accompany the lunchroom sounds and the Furans both stopped as the music was too happy of a sound to ruin.

"Why don't we have music at H.I.V.E.?" Shelby muttered to Nero. He leaned next to her slowly, and whispered:

"Because."

Shelby snorted and sat back up straight.

"Dude, have you played that game called Daddy Long Leg?" Iliana asked Pietor. He didn't really appear to be listening as he gazed elsewhere, most likely unable to hear over the music.

"Yo, man." she poked his arm. He turned.

"What? Talking about spiders?"

She started laughing and rolled her eyes. "Yes. Yes of course. I always talk about spiders."

"That's all I heard." Pietor said. She started explaining what she had really said, eyes crossing in amused frustration.

"Oh hey it's Carter." David said suddenly looking across the room "Can I ask him to sit with us?"

"No!" both Iliana and Pietor protested vehemently, immediately breaking up their conversation.

David held up his hands "I'm kidding! I'm kidding!" and they both let out breaths of relief.

"Man, you can't joke about that!" Iliana exclaimed, as everyone looked at each other curiously.

"Who's Carter?" Shelby asked, echoing everyone else's thoughts.

"Ugh! This creeper guy, who follows me around." Iliana said, adding an enhanced shiver.

"What does he look like?" Shelby asked.

"You can see him. Tall, brown hair, weird face, and _terrible_ smile." Iliana said, then covered her mouth "Oh. That was so mean."

"I offered to assign her a guard." David said, grinning.

"And I offered to have him hung by his toes in the dungeon." Pietor replied. The others chuckled and Shelby let out a trill of horrific laughter.

"I wish I would have agreed now." Iliana muttered helplessly "He keeps on asking me out and I keep on having to find an excuse to turn him down!"

"Why don't you give him a chance?" Raven suggested "Then-"

"Are you kidding? I have gone on seven, count, _seven_,dates with him!" Iliana protested "He will _never _stop asking!"

"Oh gee whiz." Raven muttered.

"Dude, he's going to see me." Iliana groaned, putting her head down.

"No, look he's sitting down." David reassured her. "And Pietor's over here, he won't come near."

"Really?" Darkdoom asked.

"I didn't do anything." Pietor reminded David.

"No, but when you're standing next to someone shorter than you and glaring at him, it makes you seem…unapproachable…" David pointed out kindly.

"Well okay. The first time I was introduced to him, one of the American girls there was all like 'yeah, he hits on girls' and I thought she meant hit, _literally_." Pietor said, waving a hand as if he were whacking someone "So here I was thinking we have an abusive guy at the Convit that likes to hit girls."

Now _at that_, everyone exploded with laughter.

"Then I got the jiff that it was an expression and he's just a creepy sicko." Pietor said. "Not that that makes it any better."

Nero and Darkdoom looked at each other, still chuckling.

"Well, he's gone." David said.

"Phew!" Iliana looked up, and carefully peered at the guy. He was now turning away and speaking with other people. She took a bite of her pizza again.

"It's kind of like that one guy at the G.L.O.V.E. meeting a few months ago." Darkdoom said, poking Raven teasingly.

"Oh _yeah_." Nero said, looking at her. Raven looked puzzled.

"You know, that guy who went and stood next to you behind Max." Darkdoom reminded her. Raven squinted for a second, then winced.

"Awww…don't remind me." she said.

"But it was so funny." Darkdoom drawled. "I've never seen you actually look so…tense."

"So you know how it feels?" Iliana asked, holding out her hand "Power to ya."

Raven leaned forward and high-fived her.

"That offer is still out for Carter." Pietor said, shrugging. "I could hang him upside down."

"That's terrible." Iliana growled.

"In a good way?" Pietor asked, tilting his head.

She blinked "No. In a terrible way." she scowled "You're so bad!"

Pietor 's eyes flicked around "I never said I was _good_."

Everyone laughed once again, especially Iliana, who squeezed her eyes shut.

Pietor watched them. "Well I didn't!"

Iliana started choking on her food she was laughing so hard. Pietor smacked her back and she bent forward, coughing.

"Ah! OW!" she gasped angrily. "Dude! I could have dealt with it!"

"Just saving your life." Pietor said. "Hey Alex came over this morning and wanted to clearage for the new recruitments." Pietor said to David. "I gave it and now he just needs it from you."

"Do you want me to give it to him?" David asked, tilting his head.

"No." Pietor said with a slight smile and David's face cleared.

"Oh okay. I thought you were going to clear it before the attack." David said, wiping a hand over his forehead sarcastically.

"That's really as stressed as your face ever gets." Anastasia said, copying his calm face from earlier and waving a hand in front of it.

"Right?" Pietor said nodding. David then started making faces. Sticking out his tongue and crossing his eyes.

From somewhere in the lunchroom there was a very loud exclamation of "Who cares!?" A lot of people glanced over at the table that had said it, which apparently the people at it were in a very heated conversation.

"I care." Pietor said, raising his hand. The others at the table chuckled and once again gathered in conversation.

"You don't even know what they were talking about." Iliana said, looking at Pietor with the amused scowling face.

"Well you never know what people are…"

Raven was looking around the lunchroom and someone caught her eye. She blinked and stared for several moments.

Whoa. Was that really him?

###

After about an hour later, Raven was walking down the hall alone. She had excused herself, but really all she wanted to do was find the person she'd seen in the lunchroom.

Valerian.

She could never remember last names and now was no better. Perhaps she'd been mistaken, but she could have sworn he'd been in the cafeteria…

After all, Pietor _had _sent all the children still at the Glasshouse to rehab at the Convit. Was it possible that Valerian was still here?

She kept trying to tell herself it didn't matter, but the curiosity would nag at her for days. He had walked down this hall. Perhaps he'd come back this way.

Raven leaned against the hall wall, one foot lifted and pressed flat back against it, and pulled out her phone. She didn't want to be caught actually searching for him. Just if he walked back, she wanted a better look.

"Raven?" a voice suddenly asked, raspy, but thick with surprise.

Raven turned, foot sliding off the wall to face the young man looking at her. It _was _Valerian. He'd come from the opposite direction she'd been expecting.

"Valerian?" she asked slowly. He looked quite well actually. And…he spoke…

"It _is _you." he exclaimed in Russian "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here with Pietor and Anastasia." Raven didn't walk to reveal anything, but after the words left her mouth, she realized how he might take them. Especially since he was most likely working for the Convit right now.

Valerian's eyes widened slightly "I thought you worked for G.L.O.V.E. now."

"I do." Raven replied, sounding awkward "It's just-"

"Who are the others you came with?" he asked, glancing behind her as if he expected them to leap out.

Raven realized how many of the Convit members really couldn't recognize Nero, now, even though she'd thought he was worldly known in things like this.

"Just friends." she said.

Valerian looked her up and down "You look well."

"You too." Raven replied, eyes flicking warily. Surely he must be itching to attack her. After what she had inflicted on him, but he seemed as calm as a whistle. Although he still had that hard look to his eyes that was a permanent scar of the Glasshouse. Guilt rushed through her at the thought of it. She'd been lucky enough to find someone like Nero.

"Why are you here with them?" Valerian asked, guardedly. He looked a bit more agitated now that he knew she was with the actual Furans.

"Nothing important." Raven replied. She couldn't tell him about the attack on the Convit. He would probably alert the whole place and ruin everything.

The man's radio bleeped and a static voice came out of it. Valerian glanced down.

"Sorry, I've got to go." he said, slipping past her, slowly as if he still wanted to question her. Raven moved to avoid touching him and stared after him for a second. Why was he being so kind?

Well if actually holding a conversation with her could be classified as _kind_…

Raven started walking down the hall again, several thoughts rushing through her head. She remembered that night she'd attacked him and squeezed…so…_hard_.

She grimaced. All he'd done was called her by her real name…which now she mostly preferred…

The other kids had screamed and attracted the guards and Pietor's attention. Raven shuddered, remembering how Pietor had come storming in. He'd ordered Valerian to the medical room by his men and brutally taken her and chained her up.

She remembered how Anastasia hadn't punished her for that, telling her that was another step toward her training completion.

She remembered how the other kids had avoided her after that.

She remembered the way Valerian had looked at her.

Raven stopped and snapped herself out of it. She scratched her neck and looked up.

Surprisingly, Nero was coming from the other direction, looking at her curiously. Raven immediately let the anxiety melt from her face and continued walking.

"Are you alright?" Nero asked, as he came up. "You seemed to leave rather abruptly."

"I'm fine." Raven assured him "Just thinking."

"And who was he?" Nero asked, looking after where Valerian had left.

Raven winced slightly. She had been hoping Nero wouldn't have seen her speaking with him, but it appeared that luck was against her.

"It's no one." Raven replied, hoping he wouldn't pry.

"Natalya." Nero said, tilting his head forward.

She sighed "His name is Valerian. He was trained in the Glasshouse at the time I was there."

Nero face always changed a bit when she mentioned that. She could never tell what emotion it was, but she liked to believe that it softened.

"And?" Nero pressed "What did he say?"

"Nothing really. I just wanted to see…" Raven bit her lip, searching for words.

"It's alright." Nero said with a nod "I understand." he held out his hand "Come back to the others, you'll feel better."

Raven wasn't completely sure what he meant by that, but she went forward anyway and Nero let a hand hover behind her as they walked. Sometimes she felt like he knew her better than she knew herself.

And he was right. When she got back to the table with the others, with Darkdoom and the students, the anxious feeling left. She caught David looking at her curiously and she smiled slightly.

###

"But the needle is like zip big." Raven said, holding her fingers about an inch apart. "It doesn't hurt."

"It is just as sharp as a ten foot long needle, woman!" Iliana exclaimed. Raven leaned back against the couch, scowling. They had returned home after a little while more of the amusing lunch. Iliana had just come to the Furan's with Pietor, who was now in his room.

"Natalya, I have tried multiple times to explain the logic to her." Anastasia said, looking resigned "Just give up."

"This is really going to bug me." Raven said "It doesn't make any sense. It's just a needle."

Iliana craned her neck to the side again, wincing. "Shhhh!"

Shelby and the other two were sitting in a circle on the floor, where Shelby was repeatedly picking a lock and then locking it again.

"Have you ever gotten your blood drawn?" Raven asked after a moment of silence. Nero looked at Iliana curiously.

"Are you kidding?" Iliana demanded, leaning forward "My step-father Gabdin used to test things on me!"

"Ooooo…" Raven replied, sinking into understanding more or less. Anastasia nodded.

"I was already terrified of needles and what he did didn't help." Iliana growled.

"What kind of things?" Darkdoom asked, carefully.

"Umm…the crap stuff they use to get info out of prisoners." Iliana replied, looking at him intensely "Yeah. Not fun. As I said, Pietor did me a favor."

"If Gabdin was so horrible, why did your mother marry him?" Nero asked.

"Because he wasn't mean to her." Iliana said. "Unbelievable right?"

Pietor shut the door to his room and walked out, looking down at his phone, which he held sideways. He went over to Anastasia and leaned over the couch. She turned her head to look at the screen he had put in front of her.

"Look what I found." Pietor said, clicking play.

Music started playing and after a second Anastasia slowly started smiling.

"What is that?" Iliana asked, leaning over.

"Where did you get that?" Anastasia asked, taking the phone.

"What is it?" Iliana asked.

"Online. Isn't that weird?" Pietor asked.

"What is it?" Iliana asked.

"That's really weird." Anastasia said, still smiling at something unknown.

"What is it?" Raven asked.

"This song that we used to dance with in a gymnastic class." Anastasia said.

"Now what was I doing wrong?" Iliana muttered.

"A gymnastics class?" Raven asked.

"When Pietor was around six." Anastasia replied, smiling at the song "Oh my word."

"You took a gymnastics class?" Iliana asked Pietor, scrunching her nose in amusement.

"Don't judge me." Pietor said "Believe me. It wasn't my idea."

"But you loved it." Anastasia said.

"I am not going to agree nor deny." Pietor replied.

"You know, I think we have video of it." Anastasia said, standing up and giving his phone back.

Pietor went to lie down on his couch, still watching his phone.

"Is that when you decided to become an assassin?" Iliana asked teasingly.

"You know, I never even really thought about it." Pietor said. "Anastasia was just like 'uh! You're taking a gymnastics class! Whadada!'"

"Whadada!" Darkdoom said with a smile.

"Don't judge." Pietor repeated, turning himself away from everyone, toward the back couch cushion

"Do you want a blanket, baby-boo?" Iliana asked, looking pitiful.

"Yes actually that would be glorious." Pietor said.

"Here it is." Anastasia said, holding up a disk as she came back down the stairs. Iliana clapped excitedly.

"Oh boy." Pietor said.

Anastasia went to put it in the DVD player and sat back down. After a few minutes a blue screen appeared on the projector, then it blinked and on came a video. The person videoing was standing in the middle of an audience and the camera was aimed toward a stage. You could hear multiple people chatting in the background, then the same song Pietor had been listening to earlier came on.

"Oh are we going to see you when you were little?" Shelby asked, putting her lock down in her lap. Laura looked up as well.

"Actually we have a video of me in heaven before I was born." Pietor said "That's what we're watching now."

Shelby stuck out her tongue and Anastasia nudged him.

As they looked back up at the video, a single little six to seven year old boy at a time was sprinting halfway across the stage and at the end doing either a messed up front-hand spring or a cartwheel.

"There's Pietor!" Anastasia said, pointing up at the screen. A little boy with dark hair and cute sweat-shorts sprinted across the stage and attempted a front flip, like his other comrades. And like the others he unsuccessfully landed on his behind before standing up and running off the stage like he had just won the Olympics.

Everyone was laughing and Pietor had his lips pressed together while shaking his head.

"Don't worry." Iliana said, patting him while smiling "I'm sure none of the other kids grew up to be world-feared assassins."

"Ah-hahaha." Pietor said.

The children on the stage repeatedly traveled across the matted stage, trying new tricks and jumps. Then they all came to the middle and got in a football huddle, still to the sound of the music.

"Why are they all looking left?" Darkdoom asked, eyes flicking over all the movements on the video.

"Because the teacher is over there, showing them what to do." Anastasia said, in amusement.

Then the little boys all did a back-hand spring back out of the circle they had formed.

"Ooo…" Iliana cooed.

Then it seemed like the routine the boys had been following was forgotten because they all seemed to go crazy. Pietor for one, was running in a circle and waving his arms through the air.

"Was that planned or did you all literally stop listening to the teacher?" Iliana asked in amusement.

"No. We were _supposed_ to be running around in a circle like I was, but I was the only one who remembered that part." Pietor said and there was a rush of laughter from the others.

After a few more minutes of that, it blinked to one of the little Pietor sitting on the couch. He did not look very happy had one of his wrists in a firm grip. Anastasia, who was videoing, sat next to him.

"Did you hurt your wrist?" she said in the video, voice trembling with amusement. Current Anastasia shook her head at herself.

The little Pietor looked at the camera and nodded with the cutest "yeah" a kid could ever say.

"Awww…" Iliana said, putting a hand over her heart. Pietor looked at her, lips scrunched in bemusement.

The little Pietor kept talking "I-I was running outside and I went into the fence and then I fell." he held up his wrist with a very modern-Pietor look of annoyance.

"Yeah?" Anastasia asked in the video. He nodded again, looking very serious.

"You should see what he did when I told him bad guys were coming." Anastasia said with a smile and everyone glanced at her expectantly

"What?" Pietor echoed "What _did _I do?"

"You don't remember that?" Anastasia asked "Aww…it was the best. I would run up to you and cry 'Pietor! The bad guys are coming!' and you would jump up form whatever you were doing and say 'I'ze gett'um!' Then you would run around the house pretending to fight people and tell me to run oh! It was hilarious!"

"Really?" Pietor asked, squinting slightly. He was still in his laid down position on the couch, hand and phone resting on his stomach. She nodded.

"Did you ever try that with Elena?" Iliana asked.

"Oh my word, yes." Pietor said.

"Yes." Anastasia said "'I would do the exact same thing with her and when I ran up 'Elena, bad guys are coming? What are you going to do?' she would stare at me and then wrap two hands around her throat and pretend to choke herself."

Iliana scrunched up her nose and laughed and so did the others. Nero smiled in surprised amusement, tilting his head, as if thinking about something. Anastasia met his gaze for just a second, eyes still warm, before she turned and looked back at the screen.

Iliana smiled as the little Pietor continued to make faces. "No really. When did you ever think about being in the army and then and assassin?"

"I have no idea. Ya ne govoryu po-angliyski." he replied, putting a pillow over his head.

"You speak plenty of angkiyski." Iliana replied, throwing her own pillow at him.

"Wait wait! I got this." Shelby said, looking at the ceiling "That is how you say English in Russian."

"Good job." Iliana said, giving her a thumbs up as everyone rolled their eyes.

"Do you have ice cream?" Iliana asked, standing up "I want ice cream."

###

"Ahhh…" Iliana said, licking the rest of the ice cream stick "That's better."

Nero and Raven both looked at her as she set it next to the four others on the side table. Darkdoom was smiling.

"You know you're still supposed to be off sugar?" Pietor said, apparently not that worried because he hadn't warned her in the first place. He was still on the couch, though not quite as turned away.

"I know, but I already ruined it once today, so I guess I can restart next week." Iliana said with a sigh.

"Off sugar? What does that even mean?" Shelby asked "Like everything has sugar in it."

"Artificial sugar." Iliana said "It sucks, because everything good has that in it."

"So are you legitimately going into the Olympics?" Raven asked.

"Hell yeah." Iliana said, then slapped her mouth "Sorry, heck. Have you ever considered it?"

"Me?" Raven asked, shaking her head "No ma'am."

"Shame." Iliana said "Pietor hasn't either, unfortunately."

"What do you mean _unfortunately_?" Pietor asked. "I don't want too. That's not a bad thing."

"Why are assassins so unsocial…" Iliana muttered.

"Umm…I think that speaks for itself." Raven replied, overhearing.

"Hey, Shelby. Ask Pietor to give you a random assassin fact." Iliana said, gesturing at the kid with her hands.

"Wait really? Give me random assassin fact." Shelby said, turning toward Pietor, lock still in hand.

"Okay. Did you know that ninety percent more Americans will scream for help if they see a gun, but if they see a blade, they'll comply?" Pietor replied.

Shelby stopped fidgeting and looked up, face rather sickened "Really?"

"Mmhhm."

"That's creepy."

"But true." Pietor said, sitting up.

"Why?" Laura asked "I mean, either way they'll kill you."

"But one way is usually more painful." Raven said helpfully from the side. "Creepy joke? I put the fun in funeral."

"You can't have slaughter without laughter." Pietor said after her and Shelby covered her mouth.

"Wow. Is that what you two do all day?" Darkdoom asked "Think up weird sayings?"

"Oh do the baby jokes." Iliana said, voice trembling with amusement.

"No!" Pietor exclaimed "Those are so demented."

"It's okay. We're all pretty demented." Raven said.

"Fine. What's worse than ten babies stapled to a tree?"

Everyone winced.

"Nothing!" Laura exclaimed.

"One baby stapled to ten trees." Pietor finished, slowly smiling and covering his mouth with a knuckle.

Anastasia shook her head. Iliana burst out laughing and the others all gasped.

"That's _horrid_!" Laura cried, staring at both of the laughing Pietor and Iliana.

"But _true_!" Pietor replied vehemently, eyes big.

"How many babies does it take to paint a barn?" Iliana asked.

"No, no more!" Laura said, covering her ears.

"It depends on how hard you throw them." Pietor finished and there was another chorus of "Ahhhwwwhhhs"

"Wooooow." Darkdoom said.

"I didn't come up with them!" Pietor said, holding up his hands, while still chuckling.

###

It was a little later that night, when there was a knock on the door.

Iliana had gone home and it was dark outside. Anastasia glanced up from her book as did the others who were still down there, excluding Pietor, who had gone upstairs to do who knows what.

"Who the heck could that be?" she muttered, setting her book face down and walking over to the door. Without a word, she opened it and there were several hushed whispers.

David was there with a whole chuck-load of girls, most of which who look extremely excited.

"Hi, Anastasia." David said, smiling "Is Pietor available?"

"Upstairs." Anastasia said, shaking her head and smiling as she pulled the whole door open.

All the girls, wearing basketball uniforms all filed in and Anastasia pointed at the stairs "Go ahead."

They all suppressed giggles as they hurried to go up the stairs and turned left to where Pietor was.

David walked up, still chuckling at himself for coming up with this one.

"Is this your fabulous idea for getting Pietor to coach?" Anastasia said as he came to stand by her.

"Oh yes. It is quite a dilly." David replied, grinning.

And it didn't take long. The girls came hurrying back down the stairs after a few minutes, looking proud and excited.

"What did he say?" David asked as they came up.

"What do you think?" one girl asked. "How could he say no?"

**GUYS. I am sorry this is so long. I promise. We will have the first Convit attack soon. I will try and make these quicker and I may have to edit this some more later.**

**Please Review!**


	35. Witnesses

**Please Review!**

Raven lightly rolled over in her bed the next morning and then slowly opened her eyes. Her room was dimly lit from the sun shining through the dark blinds and from that she knew it was morning. She brought in a deep, refreshed breath and rolled even farther to check her phone on the side table. Clicking it on, she saw one new text message and that it was eight-thirty. She locked it. She would read the text message later.

After getting dressed and checking that she was at least presentable, Raven headed down the stairs.

Pietor was leaning against the couch, loading two pistols. He took out the empty cartridge and snapped up the new.

"Whoa. Planning to kill someone?" Raven asked, as she touched the bottom step. Pietor glanced over as he slid more bullets in to place.

"Maybe. David and I have target testing today. The President likes to make sure we keep up on our aim."

"David shoots?" Raven asked in surprise.

"Uh yeah." Pietor replied "How do you think he got in Convit presidency?"

"I honestly have no idea how that system works." Raven said, stopping midway to the kitchen "I thought it was because he was a hard worker and nice guy so people just kind of voted him in position."

"Well you're not wrong." Pietor said, tightening the holster that would sling around his shoulder "But we're also required to have _some_ shooting skill."

"So is David good?"

Pietor sniffed "Very. You'd want him at your back on any mission."

"Really? I don't really see him shooting anyone." Raven said.

"David's not as innocent as everybody seems to think." Pietor said, then glanced up "I mean, he's not like a mass murderer or anything. He's like Diabolus. He'll shoot when he has too."

"Nice comparison." Raven nodded with a wince.

"Thank you."

She slightly rolled her eyes and carried on through the kitchen door. Pietor finished with his guns and followed her.

"But how do you keep the chocolate chips from completely melting?" Shelby asked as Iliana poured waffle batter onto the maker.

"You put them on right after you pour in on and then close it." Iliana said.

"They usually stay nicely in shape." Anastasia said, scooting around her to put the milk back away.

Nero and Darkdoom were sitting at the dining table; leaning back and watching the women bicker, only speaking something to the other when the situation demanded it. Wing and Laura sat near them, but as usual, Wing was silent and Laura shared a few words with anyone who spoke.

"Wow. That's a nice healthy breakfast." Pietor said, opening his fridge as Raven walked past.

"What's wrong with it?" Anastasia asked "We've got eggs, flour, and milk."

"And chocolate and sugar and syrup." Pietor said without looking over.

"Don't ruin my breakfast, man." Iliana said, waving a fork at him.

"I'm not." Pietor replied, walking over to her and grabbing a few of the little chocolate chips.

"What are you even worried about?" Iliana asked "I'm pretty sure you burn calories like ten times faster than anyone in this room, Thor."

"And why is that?" Pietor asked, throwing the handful of chocolate into his mouth.

"Oh I don't know." Iliana held up her arms and flexed "Probably that your body composition is like one percent body fat and muscle burns a lot of calories."

"That wouldn't be a good thing." Pietor said "That's not healthy either."

Iliana waved him away with her fork again, rolling her eyes. Pietor grabbed one of the plain waffles and let it hang from his mouth as he went to sit down.

"Dr. Nero." Laura said "Are we going to have to make up the work we missed?"

"Laura, shut up!" Shelby hissed, through clenched teeth. Nero looked at her, eyebrows raised and she smiled.

"Well if he's going to make us do it when we get back, I want to be prepared!" Laura snapped back.

"If you don't ask, he won't make us." Shelby replied and smiled at Nero again.

"Hmm…maybe it'll just be you doing all the make-up work." he said "If you think I'm that forgetful."

Shelby curled an unenthusiastic lip. "Make-up work for the Colonel. Eesh! Do you know how _terrible _that would be?"

"He's not that bad." Nero said, with a slight smile. He wasn't going to deny that the experience would be horrible.

"He's so mean in class…" Shelby whined "I can't imagine a one-on-one session with him."

"Look." Nero said "If you can answer this correctly, I will excuse you from the assignments. This was from our chapter one lesson."

"Okay shoot." Shelby said. Wing and Laura both leaned forward.

"What is the first thing you take care of after a failed break-in attempt?" Nero asked.

Pietor clapped his hands loudly and pointed a finger at him. "Witnesses!"

The room went silent for a second. Iliana stopped stirring the batter and Anastasia mostly just looked up. Nero looked at him, eyes slightly wide with a hint of amusement, but mostly shock.

"Oh." Pietor waved a hand and turned away in his chair "Carry on."

Darkdoom started laughing, then everyone joined in.

"Well you know. You can't have people telling on you." Pietor said "Sounded right, but at everyone's reaction I guess it was way off."

"Well." Nero said, still smiling "I suppose you're not _wrong_."

"Just the way it came out." Iliana said "And you know, you're going to _take care_ of them."

"Like a hit list." Shelby said.

"Yeah." Pietor slid out of his seat and got up "Iliana we need to go."

Iliana grumbled but didn't argue. She took another waffle and handed the whisk to Raven, who took it with that blank look. She turned and handed it to Anastasia, scowling slightly.

"Am I shooting today?" Iliana asked, grabbing her jacket and putting it on.

"Yes, ma'am." Pietor said. They started toward the kitchen door to head outside. "Goodbye."

###

**About three hours later…**

"So Pietor and David will try to get the President to surrender to them during the meeting." Nero said.

"And if not, that's what our men are for." Anastasia finished "Because the President is so secretive, we don't know exactly how many recruits he has there to guard him, if he has any."

"Then what am I doing during this time?" Raven asked.

"You and Wing will be patrolling the outer doors to ensure that if the President makes a dash, we don't lose him. And, I am fairly certain he will have _many_ men with him." Anastasia said. They were sitting in the living room, discussing their actual strategy, while the students actually listened quietly for once. Well, Shelby for once, anyway. The Colonel had joined them for the plan discussion.

"So why can't I actually be in the meeting with them?" Raven asked "I could track his movements a lot better."

"Because having a strange face in there would put the President on edge, I'm guessing." Nero said.

"And these meetings are extremely private." Anastasia said "No one is allowed in except the presidency."

"Have you ever met the President?" Darkdoom asked. She shook her head.

"Pietor has twice and David multiple times I'm guessing. Nobody really knows much about him."

"So nobody else knows who their being ruled by?" the Colonel asked, scowling slightly.

"That wasn't all that different from G.L.O.V.E." Nero reminded him. Darkdoom nodded.

"Well no one has had any reason to suspect anything either." Anastasia said just as Raven's phone started to go off. The assassin twisted to pull it out of her pocket.

"It's Pietor." she said with a frown. Anastasia glanced at her as she answered it.

"Hello?"

"Oh hi. Why'd you call me?" came Pietor's voice over the speaker.

"Me? I didn't call you." Raven said. She put her phone on speaker and pulled down her screen to check her last few calls.

"Oh whoops." apparently she had accidently called him three times. "That was not on purpose."

There was a grouchy sigh from Pietor "I thought everyone had been murdered or something. You called me three times and didn't answer any texts."

"Well everyone's fine." Raven said "You needn't worry."

"Oh I wasn't worried." Pietor replied and hung up without a goodbye. Raven rolled her eyes and went to check her texts.

"Anyway." Anastasia said after a moment of amusement. "The Convit members pretty much rely on the first and second counselors for everything."

"Yes, I understand that, but what if in some situation the President ordered them to do something against the people?" the Colonel asked "What could they do?"

"They would tell the people and kick the President out of there." Anastasia said "The President would be smart enough not to tell their counselors anything remotely threatening, however." her voice was always a bit tenser whenever she spoke to the Colonel. He had always been the most distrusting of them.

The Colonel nodded at her and looked away.

"Oh my word." Raven said, looking at her phone screen.

"What?" Nero asked as Darkdoom leaned forward to see.

"Oh no." Raven shook her head, scowling

"_What_?" Nero repeated and the others all looked over, especially Shelby.

"David just asked me out." Raven said, looking extremely unenthusiastic "Well technically earlier this morning."

"How exciting." Anastasia said, but Shelby's face exploded.

"Yassss!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms up.

"What did he say?" Darkdoom asked.

Raven leaned forward to hand the phone to him and he read it over.

"What are you doing tonight? I was wondering if you wanted to head out to dinner." Darkdoom read out loud Raven scowled.

"Why'd you read it out loud?" Raven asked in annoyance. He held up his hands defensively.

"That's the best." Anastasia said "David is so perfectly calm about it so you don't need to stress. It's just David."

"What should I say?" Raven asked, tapping a finger nervously on her phone screen.

"Well, do you want too?" Anastasia asked.

"Well. Sure." Raven said.

"Then say" Anastasia waited for her to get her phone back out "'as far as I know, I'm not doing anything tonight! Dinner sounds great! When and where?' How's that?"

"That's not how Natalya texts." Darkdoom said, shaking his head.

"That's fine." Raven said.

"Then you can just wait until he replies." Anastasia said, sitting back.

Raven nodded and sat back. It took a few seconds but his reply came and she looked at it.

"He says 'Any time after five is good for me and it's your choice! You're the visitor!'" Raven looked up "I'm a _visitor _apparently and I don't know where to go."

"Well is it going to be casual or formal?" Anastasia asked.

Raven opened her mouth, then ducked and typed on her phone again.

**Raven: **_Well would you enjoy casual or formal more?_

**David: **_Well me personally am much more casual, but we can do whatever you want. Anything is good and don't worry about cash, I've got it completely covered wherever you want to go. ;-)_

**Raven: **_Casual is great and I honestly don't know any restaurants in the area._

**David: **_Then it's a surprise! Pick you up at five?_

**Raven: **_Perfect_

_###_

"I think that's Pietor's truck." Anastasia said, glancing back with a smile and Raven grumbled. She'd been the dreading the moment Pietor would return because she just knew he was going to tease her about the date tonight.

"Do I get to tell him?" Shelby asked sweetly and Raven scowled at her.

"He probably already knows. Why would you want to tell him?"

"It's just funny." Shelby said, with an embarrassed smile. Raven narrowed her eyes and didn't say anything.

There were a few minutes of silence. Drake came trotting down the stairs at the sound of his master's arrival as he usually did. The door opened and Pietor came in, with a good sized box in his arms.

"Present time?" Shelby asked sweetly as he set it down beside the door. Anastasia shot her a look of amused fascination, surprised once again at the girl's confidence with her brother.

"Not for you." Pietor replied, leaning back and straightening up. He rubbed his dog's head as Iliana, who seemed to be making the Furan's place her second home, came in the door and slammed it.

"No really what's in the box?" Anastasia asked.

"Nothing you need to know about right now." Pietor said and Iliana came over.

"Oh hey, new person." she said, looking at the Colonel. She went to shake his hand and they did, although the Colonel's face was a bit puzzled at her.

"Colonel Francisco." he said, with a nod. She tilted her head.

"Iliana. Great to meet you!"

The Colonel nodded slowly as she whipped back around. Anastasia stood up and the Colonel mouthed something at Nero, who tilted a hand back and forth surreptitiously.

Anastasia was heading toward the package, apparently to curious to bear. Pietor waved her off irritably.

"What is it? What did you buy?" she asked.

"Psst! Back off." Pietor said "You'll find out in one and a half months."

Anastasia's mouth dropped indignantly and Pietor pushed her away by the shoulders.

"Oh yeah, that's your birthday isn't it?" Iliana asked happily and the others glanced over.

"Uh no. I had my last birthday about ten years ago." Anastasia said "I prefer not to keep count now."

"You're not dead." Iliana said "Thus far, you still have a birthday."

"And then you have Pietor here, who buys presents about two months earlier just to torture you." Anastasia said, leaning to look around her brother. He folded his arms and waved her on with a twiddle of his fingers. When she turned finally, he followed to sit on the couch.

"By the way." Iliana said, beckoning the dog over with her as she walked to them "Where are you and David going to dinner tonight?"

Raven grumbled quietly "I don't know. He said it was a surprise."

"What?" Pietor asked loudly and Drake went over to him excitedly.

"He said it was a surprise!" Raven said back just as loudly.

"Casual or formal?" Iliana asked.

"Casual." Raven said.

"I know where he's going." Iliana confirmed.

"Huh?" Raven asked, scowling "From _that?_"

"You will have fun. Are you doing anything else after?" Iliana asked, without answering her question.

"No I don't think so." Raven said.

"Are you nervous?" Pietor asked, raising one eyebrow.

"No, not really." Raven replied, giving her the same look back. Iliana and Anastasia were both beaming at her with amusement.

"What are you dying to say?" Raven asked, throwing a pillow at Pietor. After a moment of not replying, he begun to chuckle quietly.

"Whaaaattt." Raven groaned.

"Nothing." he looked up, face completely serious again. "I'm not going to say anything."

"Where is he going to take me?" Raven asked Iliana with one suspicious eye still on Pietor.

"One of three places." Iliana said "Just be excited. You will have fun."

"Well I'm not always good at talking to people." Raven said "I'm just worried I'll say something stupid."

"Do you think David would care?" Darkdoom asked.

"No."

"Do you think David would ever make fun of you? Or anyone…?" Iliana said "Yeah uh probability of that? Uh…zero."

"I suppose so." Raven replied "But what if it's awkward?"

"Don't make it awkward." Anastasia said. The Colonel waited until Raven looked away a bit before leaning over to Nero.

"Do you think it's funny that Anastasia is acting like it's easy when she never taught Raven anything about it?" he asked quietly. Nero waited a second before bobbing his eyebrows slightly in reply with tiny nods.

Unbeknownst of them, Anastasia overheard the comment. Her face hardened a bit and she closed her mouth.

"Just be yourself and don't tense up." Iliana said. She looked around at the men. "Any suggestions?"

Pietor ignored it, and the other three glanced at each other. After a moment of complete silence, Iliana rolled her eyes.

"Thank you. Best advice ever." she whacked Pietor "You."

Pietor looked up and around, then spoke "Out of anyone in this world, I am _the last _person you should ask."

"Why?" Anastasia asked, smiling at her brother.

"Yeah, why?" Iliana scoffed "You've been on a date."

Pietor looked at them for a second, lips pressed together before he gave a simple shake of his head.

"Anyone?" Iliana asked in annoyance.

"Don't look at your phone the whole time." Darkdoom said.

Iliana clapped "Good."

Raven rolled her eyes "When do I ever?"

"David will take care of you." Shelby said, hugging herself adorably.

"Gee thanks." Raven said.

"Well let's start getting you ready." Iliana said, standing up "Come on Anastasia, I need your help!"

Raven folded her arms and looked up at her irritably.

"Because I have stuff she needs, not because you need the help." Anastasia said with a smile "I'll be up in a minute.

Raven heaved herself up with a growl as Iliana beckoned her eagerly.

"Alright, never mind, I am nervous." she said. "I totally do not know what to do on a friendly date."

"Look. If you liked it, let him know. And give him a sign you want to go again." Pietor said "Otherwise he will feel stupid."

Raven paused and looked at him abruptly "Wow." she tilted her head "That's a really sweet idea."

Pietor gave a nod "I have my moments."

###

**About four hours later, almost 5 o'clock.**

"Natalya, stop fussing with it." Anastasia said. "You look gorgeous." she pulled Raven's hands away from her face.

"I don't wear makeup." Raven said irritably.

"Just stop touching your face." Iliana said.

After many objections and protests, Anastasia and Iliana had successfully gotten Raven to put on mascara. They still sat in Anastasia's bathroom, where a very big mess had accumulated on the counter.

Downstairs, everyone still sat together, mostly silent except the few conversations between the students. There was a knock on the door and Shelby half-squealed. She tugged at Pietor.

"Get it! Get it!"

Pietor looked down at her, a fierce scowl on his face and she stopped, still smiling. He got up with a roll of his eyes and went over to the door, swinging it open.

"Hey." David said, smiling at his friend "Is she ready?"

"I hope so after all the time they spent up there." Pietor replied with a glance at the stairs.

"Uh oh, is she nervous?" David asked.

Darkdoom leaned, with a grin "Probably."

"Really?" David asked, still smiling "I'll try not to wear her down."

Pietor nodded "I have to say, you are snappy."

"Snappy?" David asked. He pointed a finger "Good or bad?"

"Ehh…it's both." Pietor said David raised his eyebrows and made a face.

"Hi, David!" Shelby called.

"Hi, Shelby!" David called back, leaning to see her.

"Where are you going to take her?" Pietor asked.

"Oh I'm sorry, that question is not in the binder right now." David replied "You'll have to wait and hear."

"But hey." Nero said, also leaning, "I must tell you, she has a curfew. Midnight." he smiled.

"Perfect!" David replied with a thumbs up "I will try to have her back by then."

Raven and Iliana came around the corner, then Anastasia and all three came down the stairs. Raven walked straight over, arms tensely out to her side.

"Okay." she stopped "Let's go." she slipped out the door. David speedily looked back and forth where she had come and gone, eyes wide. He smiled, then stood straight.

"Okay." he gave a mimicked tense wave to all the others "Bye." he gave an exaggerated heavy breath and turned after his date, smiling.

Pietor slammed the door and held up his fingers to count to three silently, before everyone burst out laughing. Iliana especially.

###

"SO." David said as they pulled out of the Furan's place. He looked at her "How are you doing tonight?"

"Great." Raven said.

"Great!" David exclaimed with overly ambitious happiness and Raven jumped. After a moment, she smiled too and they both chuckled, her tension fading.

###

"Alright, I need to get some energy out." Iliana said, still tingling from her laughter after Raven left.

"Go run a mile." Pietor said.

"Do you think she'll die?" Iliana asked, standing up.

"Actually I think she'll love it." Anastasia put in.

"Let's dance." Iliana said. Nero glanced at her scowling slightly. Darkdoom smiled at her abruptness.

"Dance?" Anastasia echoed, waving her head slightly.

"I am not moving." Pietor said.

"No like Just Dance or something. I want to exercise." Iliana said. "Let's do it on the big screen."

"Whoever wants to exercise?" Shelby asked.

###

Anastasia poured some drinks for Nero, Darkdoom and the Colonel, who had come in the kitchen once the dancing had commenced.

You could hear the shrieks of laughter coming from the other room, mostly from Iliana and Shelby.

"They really don't run out of energy, do they?" Darkdoom asked.

"They do not." Nero agreed.

"I think they even have Pietor in on it, right now." Anastasia said, handing them the drinks.

"Oh dear, Natalya will be sad she missed that." Darkdoom smiled.

"Well, I've got to see it." Anastasia said, taking a sip "You don't miss these once in a lifetime things." she turned to go out of the kitchen.

Nero frowned slightly at her hasty farewell. Darkdoom looked confused as well, but they shrugged and followed her back out.

"_I used to bite my tongue and hold my breath  
Scared to rock the boat and make a mess  
So I sit quietly, agree politely  
I guess that I forgot I had a choice  
I let you push me past the breaking point  
I stood for nothing, so I fell for everything"_

"This is not appropriate dancing." Pietor said loudly over the music, who was standing next to Iliana, who was busting some nice moves. Wing watched Shelby from the side, head tilted, and Laura stood next to her friend, occasionally doing a weird move.

"What's wrong with it?" Iliana shouted, waving her hands up in the air.

"This is not right." Pietor replied "Just watch her." he pointed up at the screen with the remote. Iliana smiled and twirled around in a circle, arms up.

"Do it, Pietor!" she screamed over the music.

"Ahh." Pietor slowly turned himself around, slowly shaking his head at the others who had come out. Anastasia laughed although she couldn't be heard over the song. She went to lean on the couch and watch them.

_"Now I'm floating like a butterfly  
Stinging like a bee I earned my stripes  
I went from zero, to my own hero_

You held me down, but I got up (HEY!)  
Already brushing off the dust  
You hear my voice, you hear that sound  
Like thunder gonna shake the ground  
You held me down, but I got up (HEY!)  
Get ready 'cause I've had enough  
I see it all, I see it now"

"Remind me again why Shelby came to H.I.V.E." Darkdoom said loudly to Nero. He just shook his head, eyes wide.

"You know, we could leave her here." the Colonel suggested.

"And ruin the Furan's celebration after the Convits gone?" Nero asked "Oh I wouldn't be that cruel."

Darkdoom smiled, squeezing his eyes shut.

There came the point in the song where you joined hands with your partner and spin. Laura absolutely rejected Shelby at that point, putting her hands up.

However, Iliana and Pietor were completely on top of it. They leaned back, using each other's weight to remain upright as they twirled around. Anastasia's face was flat into the cushion, only her shoulders shaking.

Pietor let Iliana go and fly into the couch. She collapsed laughing so hard she was silent.

"Da!" he said as the song ended.

"You wouldn't even spin with me!" Shelby yelled at Laura.

"It makes me dizzy!" Laura said loudly in defense.

"You two shout too much!" Pietor shouted at them and they both jumped incredibly high at his very loud voice, which he smiled in satisfaction.

"Whoa, chill out, man." Shelby said, tossing the controller onto the couch.

"I killed her." Pietor said, waving a hand at the limp Iliana on the cushions.

"I'm dying!" Iliana rasped mockingly.

"I will save you!" Pietor said, going to jump on her, but he stopped before he jumped as Iliana grabbed her knees and squealed. He rolled his eyes with half a smile and she got up quickly.

"Again!"

###

**About an hour and a half later…7:30 P.M. or so…**

"Do you think Raven will get back anytime soon?" Iliana asked "I mean, I want to see how it went." she didn't look away from the screen, from which she was intently playing Call of Duty against Pietor and Shelby.

"I'm sure anytime soon." Anastasia replied, leaning back. Their group had just finished dinner and the plates remained on the table in front of them. "I mean, we beat them eating."

"You shot me." Pietor said to Shelby. She glanced at him scowling.

"That's the game!"

"You do not shoot me. We're supposed to on a team."

"Until you betrayed us and joined the other team." Iliana said, looking at him.

"You guys kept getting killed, what did you want me to do?" Pietor asked.

"Help us. We are not assassins." Shelby said, patting him on the shoulder for a second.

He pressed his lips together before retaliating and wrapping an arm around her head and neck. Shelby made a weird squawking sound, immediately dropping her controller.

"You want to try that again?" he asked, without loosening his grip.

"Eh! You're gonna break my neck!" Shelby said, unable to push him off.

"No, don't break her neck." Nero said, wincing "That would be expensive."

Pietor tilted his head back and forth, face agreed at that. He let the girl go reluctantly and she fell back.

"Ah!" she grabbed her neck and shot Nero a look "Thanks!"

"I thought it would get him off you faster." Nero replied, with a slight smile.

"Well only because I'm expensive apparently!"

"Eh. Children are replaceable." Pietor said.

"You are a jerk!" Shelby exclaimed.

"And you are an annoying brat." Pietor replied without raising his voice.

"Well you couldn't even catch the Wraith for your job!" she replied hotly.

"And you can't even cover your tracks well enough."

"And you are arguing with a twelve year old girl." Iliana said, throwing herself in.

"I'm fifteen!" Shelby said indignantly.

"You don't act it." Pietor said.

The back door opened, saving the others from another long argument. They glanced back and Raven came in. Her eyes widened slightly as everyone was looking at her and she waved.

"Hi."

"Welcome back." Nero said.

"How did it go?" Anastasia asked. Raven put up her hands for a second.

"I'm going to get changed." she turned and started toward the stairs.

"And then you have to come straight back down here and tell me how it went!" Iliana yelled. Raven glanced back slightly, but she didn't say anything.

"Uh oh. Max is this bad or good?" Iliana asked.

Nero smiled and shook his head slightly.

"She either sounds embarrassed or really upset." Iliana said "This is not good."

"Don't jump to conclusions." Darkdoom said "She's probably putting on a show."

"Do you think they kissed?" Shelby asked quietly.

Pietor looked at her "_On the first date?_"

"Well maybe Raven is extremely frisky and we just don't know it." Shelby said.

"Well David's not that _frisky_." Anastasia said.

"I like that American word." Iliana said "Frisky."

They waited a couple minutes until Raven showed up and started to come down the stairs again.

"So?" Iliana asked, turning and pausing the game "Tell us all about it."

"There's nothing to say." Raven said "We went out to dinner and that's it."

"Hm." Pietor nodded and turned back around "Let's play."

"There's more to it than that!" Iliana said, snapping her fingers a couple times "Come on."

"Tell me one thing though." Darkdoom said "Were you that tense the entire time?"

Raven looked at him "Was I tense?"

"Shh!" Iliana shushed him "Just start from the beginning."

"There is nothing to say."

"Natalya!" Iliana exclaimed.

Raven let out a breath, then slowly smiled "It was really fun."

**Remember these chapters with all your heart…**

**And Please Review.**


	36. Particular

**Please review!**

**Two weeks later…10:00 am**

"Our men are ready, Max." the Colonel said, looking over the blueprints that were spread out across the bed "And the Furan's."

Nero nodded "Good."

"Although I would be more at ease if Pietor and his friend weren't going to speak to the Convit President alone." the Colonel went on. He looked up at Nero.

They were up in their room with the Convit blueprints and the Colonel was informing them of the developments with the men. Raven stood next to the bed arms folded and Darkdoom was in an arm chair a few feet away.

"I know how you feel, Colonel, but I honestly don't believe we have to worry about anything." Nero replied.

"I don't trust them." the Colonel said quietly, glancing back at the door to make sure no one was listening. "And this other guy, David, if I remember, who is he? I have a feeling this is all spinning out of our control."

"You can trust David." Raven said.

"No offense Raven, but you are hardly able to make a fair judgement of him at this point." the Colonel replied. Raven raised her chin, bristling uncomfortably at the comment.

"That's enough." Nero said, giving both of them a hard stare "Colonel, need I remind you that the decisions are not completely ours to make. This was the Furan's idea and we are in their home."

"Are you going to leave the safety of any of us in the hands of Anastasia Furan?" the Colonel growled.

"I'm not leaving it to anyone." Nero replied "I hardly think you're helpless."

"If I may say, Colonel, it's not as if you've been around them this past month." Darkdoom said "What is leading you to such distrust?"

"Are you comfortable with this?" the Colonel asked, looking at him.

"Quite actually." Darkdoom said "I have found little to complain about since we have arrived."

The Colonel just shrugged and gave a slight shake of his head.

"David and Pietor will be fine. There is no other way to get anywhere near the President." Nero said.

"Speaking of which, I haven't seen Pietor or Anastasia this morning." Darkdoom said "Has anyone?"

"Anastasia was inspecting the men this morning." the Colonel said "Pietor is probably with her now."

"Well, if we're done, I'm going to go downstairs." Darkdoom said, getting up out of the chair.

"And make sure the students are still intact." the Colonel said pointedly. Darkdoom glanced back at him irritably.

"_Please_, Colonel." Nero growled quietly "Don't stir up unnecessary trouble."

Darkdoom opened the door and walked out, but returned a second later.

"Natalya." he waved a hand "He's here."

"David?" Raven asked, turning to walk over. Darkdoom nodded.

"What's he doing here?"

"I don't know."

"This place is like a get-together congregation. I'm surprised the Furans ever have any peace even with us gone." the Colonel said.

"David is Pietor's best friend. Of course he's going to be around here a lot." Darkdoom said, sliding back after Raven.

###

"So you have never been to Disneyland?" David asked "Zip?" he leaned back into the couch and looking at the students in fascination.

"Nope." Laura said as Wing shook his head.

"Disney World. Disney…anything?" David asked.

"Well I have." Shelby answered.

"That was never really a priority as I grew up." Wing said, with a frown. David smiled at his seriousness.

"I never really thought about it." Laura said.

"Even _Pietor's _been to Disneyland." David said "This is a problem."

"Pietor went to Disneyland?" Shelby asked.

"Yeah, Anastasia, Iliana, Pietor, and me." he replied. "Although he'd never admit to liking it."

"I want to go with you guys!" Shelby exclaimed "Holy crap that sounds fun!"

"Alright!" David clapped his hands "I will take you!"

"To_ Disneyland_?" Shelby asked, gaping slightly.

"Yes! Last year, I took thirteen of the kids in my group, the ones who wanted to go, and we all went to Florida and stayed in a condo for two weeks. It was amazing and warm." David exclaimed "And we could _totally_ do that in Disneyland!"

"Thirteen teenagers?" Laura asked, looking a little disconcerted "Wasn't that terribly expensive? And…loud?"

"Money doesn't matter." David said with a "pffff" smile "We had fun. And the kids went to sleep at around one every night. Which isn't too bad right?" he grinned "Wouldn't that be so fun!?"

"Yes! And I say we do it!" Shelby exclaimed "Yes yes yes."

"Alright." David nodded "We will do it! In Florida, I bought stuff to make homemade suckers. Which are amazing."

"_Homemade _suckers?" Shelby asked.

"Yes! Do you want to make some now?" David asked "That is if Anastasia will let me."

"Let you do what?" Raven asked as her and Darkdoom came down the stairs.

"Hi!" David greeted them warmly.

"Make suckers!" Shelby said excitedly. "Let's ask Anastasia!"

"Okay!" David heaved himself up.

"I don't even know where she is." Shelby said, whirling around "Upstairs?"

"Not there." Raven said, shaking her head.

David chuckled "I think she's in the other hangar, Shelby, come on." he turned and the student followed him.

Before they got over to the door, it opened and the Furans walked out. Nero and the Colonel were also coming down the stairs.

"Well this is an active morning. Hello everyone." Anastasia said.

"Crap. Did we have a meeting?" Pietor asked, looking at David.

"No, sir." his friend replied with a smile. "Hey, Anastasia can I make a mess in your kitchen if I clean it up?"

"It depends. What are you making?" Anastasia asked.

"Suckers."

She smacked her tongue distastefully "As long as I never knew any mess was in there you can make them."

"Perfect. I can work with that." David clapped again and turned around. Shelby followed, tingling eagerly. She waved a hand for Wing and Laura, who got up after a glance at each other.

"Oh hey, Pietor, don't forget about your game tonight." David said, walking backwards for a second.

"I know." Pietor said. His friend smiled and gave a thumbs up.

"Is he ever unhappy?" Raven asked "Because I have never seen a frown cross his face."

"Don't worry." Anastasia said "Me neither."

"I tried to teach him how to be mean, but it didn't take." Pietor said.

"Why would you do that?" Raven asked, looking at him with a slight smile.

"No I guess that wasn't a very good idea. If he's going to get closer to you he's going to need all the confidence he can get." Darkdoom said. Raven turned to him.

"I'm kidding! I'm kidding!"" he said putting his hands up.

"David is just mentally incapable of doing anything hurtful to people." Pietor said.

"I think more people should be like that." Raven growled, glaring at Darkdoom.

###

"So first." David said, bending over to pull out a small pot from the drawer "We have to get some sugar, water and some butter to a hard crack boil."

"Alright." Shelby said, watching him "What does that mean?"

He chuckled "It means that when it cools it will be able to crack like glass."

"Wow, really?" she asked.

"Yes. So want to fill that with water?" he handed her the pot "About halfway. Then we can discuss flavors." he smiled with his sparkling smile.

###

**About 7 hours later…that evening…**

"This is amazing." Shelby said, licking the very large, glossy, brown sucker as they drove down the road in the car.

"I know right?" David said "And now you have something to eat at the game!"

Raven glanced over at him slightly. They were heading to the girls' basketball game and the two girls and Raven had gone with David (with many encouraging words from Darkdoom). Wing and the Colonel had both chosen to pass on the trip.

"Do you not eat refined sugar?" David asked, looking at her with a smile.

"I do. Just not very often." Raven said.

"Is it because you are trying to keep healthy or because you just don't like it?"

"Ehh. A little bit of both." she replied.

"Hmm…interesting." David said, smiling at the road. "I'm glad I like all sugar otherwise I probably would have died back as a teen."

Raven was going to laugh, but realized that didn't make any sense. She turned "What?"

"Diabetes." David said with a glance at her.

She frowned "Really?"

He nodded "Type one so luckily it's just an insulin shot a day. But a tip." he paused "Do not pull out any needles in front of Iliana because she goes bonkers."

Raven sniffed in amusement "I learned that the hard way."

"Oh really?" he chuckled "Me too. About made her cry too."

"She just took off on me." Raven said and David laughed so she did too.

###

**At the Convit building…**

"Iliana said she was saving seats on the left side of the gym." David said, pointing down the hall to doors. "So if you want to go and find her I will be with you in a moment."

"Are you watching the game?" Shelby asked.

"Oh of course, but I have to make sure the other kids get in and then I will be right with you." he replied with a wink.

"He's so nice, Raven." Shelby said, once he was out of ear shot. Raven shot her a look as they slid past all the hustling bunch of people.

They continued on towards the doors until Laura spoke.

"There's Dr. Nero."

Raven's eyes flicked for a moment, than she spotted him and Darkdoom next to the first entrance to the gymnasium. Darkdoom waved a finger so they noticed them and Nero glanced back.

"And?" Darkdoom said as they came up "How was it?"

"How was _what_?" Raven asked, jutting her chin out. He just smiled and rolled his eyes. He knew she knew exactly what he was talking about.

"Did Anastasia not come?" she asked, changing the subject.

"She did. She went to sit with Iliana." Nero told her.

"Can we go?" Shelby asked, tilting her head towards the door meaningfully. Nero glanced at her.

"_You _can. The game doesn't start for a little bit."

"So I suppose you want to stay out here and talk like most adults do. Okay, see you in there later." Shelby said, whirling around. Laura followed her with a wave at them.

"Did David talk to you? Oh wait. Of course he did." Darkdoom said "Natalya, when are you going to open up to us?" he smiled "Come on."

"I think I'm plenty open to you. I just don't want to say anything just yet…" Raven faded off as she spoke.

Darkdoom pounced "_Yet? _There's a _yet _involved here? Hooray!"

"Why do you care anyway?" she queried.

"I just find it interesting that after all these years of meeting men and exploring the world you find a guy that you like right near where you were born."

"Diabolus, leave her alone." Nero said, looking around the crowd with a slight smile on his face.

"Do you notice that this is how it always works out in movies?" Darkdoom asked "The happy cheerful ones always go for the quieter…ummm…"

Raven glared at him.

"Particular ones." Darkdoom said, knowing she couldn't get mad at him for stating a fact about her personality.

"Particular?" Raven echoed "I'm particular?"

"Well I have a better word, but it might offend you." Darkdoom said with a smile.

###

The referee whistled as the girl from the opposite team was knocked flat on her back. He made signs at the score keeper and he called the foul over the intercom, announcing that the foul was worth two shots.

Pietor, who was pacing down on the court, yelled something out to his girls as they all gathered around the hoop. The crowds watched intently as the girl took her shots.

Nero, Darkdoom, and Raven had joined the students at the top of the bleachers. People sat all around them, calling out their opinions of the ref's vision ability every time there was a foul. Raven sat in between David and Darkdoom, which was a source of adorableness to everyone around them. Iliana and Anastasia sat in front of them with Laura and Shelby.

It was the fourth quarter of the game and they were down by one point, which Pietor was very stressed about. He called a time-out after the other team made the second shot and both teams came jogging in to speak with their coaches. The student orchestra started playing music for the minute of entertainment.

"You're right." Iliana said over the sound, turning around and patting David's leg. "Pietor is a lot better as a girls coach."

"Right?" David replied with a smile "He's a bit softer on them."

Shelby also turned around and tapped on Nero "We need a basketball team at H.I.V.E. Raven could be the coach and I would totally play on the team."

"Isn't water polo enough?" Nero replied "Besides, do you even know how to play basketball?"

"Fair point, but I'm pretty sure there are plenty of people at H.I.V.E. that used to play basketball." Shelby said.

"Tell you what. If you can get Raven to agree to do that, I would be more than happy too." Nero said.

"Really?" Shelby exclaimed "Deal! Sweet, we're going to have a basketball team!"

"Good luck." Nero said with a slight smile as she turned around.

A few seconds later, the buzzer rang and the girls yelled a cheer before breaking up. Pietor said something after them, before starting to pace again, running a hand through his hair.

The ball was passed into the court by Pietor's team and they started to maneuver back across the court.

"Get on twenty-six. Get on twenty-six!" Pietor said, just as one of them passed the ball and it was intercepted by twenty-six. He smacked his chair with his newspaper and yelled something else out.

"That girl walked." Raven said, watching as the other team dribbled it past.

"These refs suck." Iliana said.

"But at least they suck for both teams, instead of being biased." David pointed out.

"Will you stop being so nice for two seconds?" Iliana asked, without turning around "They suck and that is all there is too it."

David smiled down at her.

One of Pietor's girls went to block the shot the opposite team was taking and they collided. The ref blew his whistle as they got into a wrestle match for the ball and the girls broke apart. The other teams coach called a time-out again. However, the girl who had been trying to block the shot took a single step and limped badly. Her team mates gathered around her and Pietor went to walk out to them. He got next to the girl and grabbed her shoulder, saying something. She shook her head, wincing.

"Uh oh." David said, looking concerned.

"It looked pretty bad when she landed." Darkdoom said.

After a few seconds, Pietor wrapped his arm around her shoulders, heaved her up, and carried her off the court to the chairs. The crowd clapped in encouragement. Another girl got up to take the injured girls place.

"I hate games like this." Laura said, looking down on the court "Everyone's always so tense and there's a lot of yelling."

"And most of it will be by Pietor." David said, grinning. He leaned to see the girl sitting on the chair. Pietor was bent over talking to her and got down to look at her ankle.

"He does seem to do a lot of that." Raven said "Although, these refs aren't calling anything."

"Ever played?" David asked and she shook her head.

"Nope."

"Hm…too bad. We gotta do that sometime." he replied and Raven smiled.

Some of the staff people started throwing out wrapped up T-shirts for the time-out and all the fans immediately starting screaming and waving their arms. Laura plugged her ears and Darkdoom patted her back in amusement.

The shirts flew across the air and out of the blue, David caught one when it came right at him. He handed it to Raven and she took it after a second, looking at him. He smiled.

###

"Was her ankle bad?" David asked as they walked up to the front porch of his house.

"It was a nasty sprain." Pietor said as he opened the door "I wrapped it up for her there, but her parents are taking her to a doctor."

"Aww…dang it." David said, flicking on the light.

"I never knew girls games could get that dirty." Iliana said and everyone chuckled.

The group walked into David's living room, where a big dog lifted its head from the floor and looked at them.

"Hey, I didn't know you had a dog." Shelby said, pointing.

"Yeah, I put her away for the party." David told her "She's not a crowd lover."

"It's a girl? What's her name?"

"Keesha." David said, walking over to flick on the lamp. The dog watched them, without getting up. She had sleek tan fur and floppy ears and dark colored eyes.

"You guys can sit down; I'll just get her her dinner." David invited them, turning to go in the kitchen.

"How did he get this place so spotless after that party?" Laura asked, taking a seat on the couch. Anastasia unfolded the Convit blueprints that seemed to go everywhere with her and Nero and laid them on the coffee table.

"I know I would think it would have taken years. There were like thirty kids here." Shelby said, going over to the dog. She knelt down and the dog turned her head slightly.

"Does she not like people?" Shelby asked as David came back out with a bowl of food.

"No she does. She's just." he paused to think "She's a worrier. She doesn't know where I've been all this time and it stresses her out."

"That's so sweet." Shelby said, running a hand over the dog's fur. David smiled and set down the bowl by the dog, before going to take a seat like the others.

"So are you guys ready for this?" Anastasia asked, looking up from the map and at Pietor and him.

"What is there to be ready for?" Pietor asked.

"I worry when you say that." his sister replied and he rolled his eyes.

"I'll keep an eye on him, Anastasia." David said, smiling "The President won't know what hit him and then everything will be as the way it was before he became President. Now." he clapped "Does anyone want drinks?" he glanced at Raven "Water for you?"

She smiled and nodded.

"And soda for you two?" David asked, pointing at Shelby and Laura. He gave a thumbs up without waiting for an answer and went back into the kitchen.

"David's awesome." Shelby said, still petting the dog.

"Okay. So I'll be here? With Wing on the other side correct?" Raven asked, pointing at a spot on the map.

"Correct. And if you want a few men with you, you can." Nero said.

"I'd rather they went with Wing." Raven said.

"We have some for him." Nero assured her.

"Oh this day seemed to come so fast." Iliana said "Pietor, _do not _get shot."

"I won't." Pietor replied "When have I ever gotten shot before?"

"Well. There was the-"

"Ah psst." Pietor waved a hand "Let's not."

Iliana chuckled "Alright."

"Everything will be fine." Pietor said "Of course, unless everything goes wrong."

"Really?" Anastasia asked irritably.

"Like that one saying that Gabdin used to say. The weird one." David looked up with a smile "One dark day."

"Oh yeah." Pietor said "How does that go? One dark day..."

"One dark day in the middle of the night, two dead boys got up to fight. Back to back they faced each other, drew their swords and shot each other. A deaf policeman heard the noise; he got up and shot those two dead boys. If you don't believe this lie is true, go ask the blind man, he saw it too."

Everyone looked at each other for a second, before bursting out laughing. Pietor and David looked at each other.

"Oh yes, the President's in trouble." David said, smiling.

**Hi. I REALLY hope that wasn't too rushed. I just really wanted to get it done. Get ready for the Convit attack! **** Thank you all so much! Please Review!**


	37. The Attack

**The Attack**

The several dozens of squads of men assembled their weapons as they prepared to go to the Convit building. The Colonel and Anastasia conducted them in an orderly fashion, giving orders and directions. Nero, Raven and Darkdoom waited outside next to the truck they were taking. Raven had a gun around her waist and her katanas strapped to her back as usual. The others were inside.

"Do you have everything?" Pietor asked David, tucking his gun away. "The President is arriving at the building at five for our meeting."

"Yes I am ready!" David said "Phew I hope this doesn't take too long."

"I'll ask the President to cooperate." Pietor said with a smile. "Although I don't really think he'll have brought many men with him."

"True dat." David replied.

Iliana walked out of the kitchen, taking a bite of toast "Are we ready?"

"Could you look any more relaxed?" Pietor asked.

"I could. But I figured you would need me alert for today." she responded. "Where is everyone?"

"I want toast." David said.

"You guys are such idiots." Pietor said "We need to be on time for our meeting."

"I'll get you a toast David." Iliana replied, sticking her tongue out at Pietor. "We can wait ten seconds."

"Or that could jeopardize our whole plan and we could be revealed and then everything we worked for would be gone." Pietor said.

"Oh I love you boys." Iliana said, still turning to go back to the kitchen.

###

Pietor and David turned to go into the meeting room where they had all their general meetings with the President.

Everyone was in position. Their men were ready and they had their guns.

Pietor turned the door knob and pulled it open.

The man seated at the table looked up and gestured at the seats beside him "Good evening gentlemen."

"To you as well." Pietor replied with a nod as they entered. The President picked up his papers and neatly stacked them on the table as they took their seats.

"And how may I assume the preparations are going?" he asked, with a slight smile.

"Very well." David replied "I have spoken with Alex and the new men are ready."

"Good." the President said with a dip of his head.

They continued their discussion for the next half hour and the President repeatedly wrote things down on his paper. Pietor glanced down at his phone, checking the time.

"And we will need more recruits by May." the President said "As many as possible."

David jotted that down on his own paper and looked back up expectantly. Pietor listened silently for the time being.

"Have you spoken to Alex about that?" the President asked, clicking his pen on the table. He looked at Pietor.

"Yes. He has started the search and gatherings for it already as he reported." Pietor said.

"And in the future we need to be a bit more vigilant about giving Alex the permission as these were a bit late." the President went on.

"Of course." David replied with a nod.

"Then, I think that will be all gentlemen. Thank you for your time gentlemen." he tucked his notepad back into his coat.

Neither Pietor nor David moved and he looked back over at them for a second.

"You are dismissed gentlemen."

Pietor subtly pulled out his pistol and stood up, pointing it at him. The President's eyes flicked between them.

"Pietor, would you like to explain what's going on?"

"Sir, I'm rather afraid to tell you that you're being overruled." Pietor said, keeping his gun up.

The President looked at David calmly "Did you know about this?"

"I support him, sir." David replied, standing up and taking out his own gun.

"Stand down." Pietor said "If you contact all your troops to stop the network productions now, we will leave you unharmed."

"Ooo…I don't think that's going to happen." the President said, standing. In one quick movement he yanked the pin out of the grenade he was holding and tossed it at them. It went off with a loud bang and flash.

Pietor and David snapped their eyes shut and took several steps back. There was a loud ringing that echoed in their ears causing even more disorientation.

When Pietor opened his eyes, the room waved a bit, the chairs swirling. It took him a moment to realize David and him were both on the floor.

"David." he said as his friend opened his own eyes.

"I'm fine. You?"

Pietor nodded and they got to their feet. The President was gone.

"Damn." Pietor said with a growl.

"Let's move." David said briskly "The others won't know he's coming."

As they attempted to go forward, a voice spoke in their ear coms.

"Furan. The President has men with him. They're at the front gate, blocking the entrance. He has ordered them against us. There are children in the building. Eighteen of them. I think he is planning to take them hostage when he makes his escape."

"What are they doing here?" David said in horror.

"Where are you?" Pietor asked the man on the other side urgently, putting a finger to his ear.

"On the west side. Anastasia ordered us here."

"Good. Contact Raven and tell her to go to the side entrance in case the President runs there."

"Yes, sir." and the connection died.

David looked at Pietor, eyes wide "I have to go. I have to get them out of there."

"David, wait. We ne-"

"Pietor this isn't their fight I have to go." David said, staring at him.

Pietor pressed his lips together before nodding "Yes you do. I'll find the President. After you do, meet me at the base where Anastasia is."

David nodded tensely and tucked his gun back away as he turned. Pietor hurried and used his pass to get through the door opposite of David.

The hall was silent. He slowly began to walk down the hall.

"Lost David have we?" a voice said suddenly spoke behind him. Pietor whipped around and lifted his gun right at the muzzle of another gun. The President smiled at him.

"Coward." Pietor growled.

"I don't think that's fair." he replied, dropping a smoke bomb to the ground. It exploded with white smoke. He didn't want Pietor harmed; he wanted him to follow him. He turned and opened a door to sprint down stairs.

Pietor waved away the smoke and ran down the stairs after the President, gun drawn and ready to shoot. The President in front of him dived between the multiple rows of shelves filled with storage. He rolled out of sight, than all went silent.

Pietor kept his gun raised, flicking between all the points of sounds he heard. A long mirror behind him shattered as a bullet struck its center only inches from Pietor's arm.

"Put the weapon down!" Pietor yelled, sliding over quickly.

"No. _You _put the weapon down, Pietor and talk to me. We can still make this work." the President replied.

Pietor sneered "Unless you agree to step down as president and shut this pathetic organization down, I will never work with you."

"Too bad. You were always a very valuable person to have on my team." the President said back "Why the sudden turn, Pietor? Is it Iliana? The friends you brought here? What happened?"

"You think I was ever your ally?" Pietor snapped.

"Yes, in fact I do." he replied. "When the other president was in charge."

"Yes. When the other president was in charge." Pietor agreed. "Then you decided to take over Russia."

"You will be at the front, Pietor." the man said "Come back. You can still work with me. I can keep your sister safe."

Pietor blinked and hesitated a second.

There were sounds of running feet and Pietor started running toward the exit door of the Convit building, hoping to cut him off.

But his target had just seemed to disappear. He broke open the door to the alley behind the building.

There was a black shape in front of him and he raised his gun.

"Pietor drop!" Raven yelled, a gun pointed at him.

Pietor lowered his gun.

"Drop!" she yelled urgently, eyes widening. Both her fingers were on the trigger.

Pietor lifted his weapon and pointed carefully. Raven met his gaze wildly as they both pulled the trigger, and then squeezed them closed.

Two bodies hit the ground with a thud.

Raven opened her eyes. Pietor stared at her a second, eyes wide, before they both looked back at the two bodies behind them. Then they both turned back and Pietor walked over.

"Nice." he said breathlessly.

"Same." Raven replied, chest heaving once.

"Is everyone okay?" Pietor asked and she nodded, glancing behind him.

"Where's David?"

"He had to get children out. I'll explain later. Pietor said quickly "Go and tell the others the President escaped and is on the run. Do what you can to keep the guards away. It seems he has a lot more med with him than we thought."

Raven nodded and turned to run back.

###

David ran through the corridor, praying to God it wasn't too late. He burst through the doors to the gym.

Raven skidded to a stop to avoid colliding with him.

"David!" she exclaimed.

"Natalya, what are you doing in here? The President made a run for it." David said urgently.

"I know I met Pietor. I'm on my way to the others." Raven replied quickly.

"You need to get out of here." David said "His men are going to surround the building."

"Then come with me." Raven said "That means he's making a run and his men will go with him."

"No I have to get the kids out of here. It's my responsibility. I don't want you getting hurt. Go." he nodded behind him.

"I won't get hurt." Raven growled.

"Please go, Natalya." David said.

She stared at him "Will you follow once you have them?"

David gave a tight smile "Yes, just go."

Raven met his gaze for a second before slipping past him.

"Good luck!" David called after her.

###

Pietor walked down the hall to the Convit main office, guessing where the President would go. And he was right.

There was a gunshot and Pietor lifted his own gun.

The President walked out of the office, pistol raised. They faced each other in the lobby.

"Drop it, Pietor." he growled.

Pietor was about to reply, when he spotted David. He came around the corner slowly, the large group of kids behind him.

"Friends we have here?" the President asked, keeping his gun leveled at Pietor.

"Let them through." David said "They're innocent."

"If they go through these doors, my men will shoot them dead in an instant." the President warned "I have no grudge against them."

David waved a hand back at the children. "Go to the side entrance and use the escape route I showed you."

The teenagers hesitantly followed his orders and turned to run.

"This really is pointless." the President said "Lower your weapons."

"Tell your troops to stand down." Pietor replied.

"I had such high hopes with you two working alongside me." the President said.

"Those days are over. Do what we say." David replied.

The man looked at him "David, you have been a long and faithful partner. I am thankful to have worked with you." with those words, he twitched his gun and fired once into David's chest. He fell back and hit the ground.

"No!" Pietor yelled. He pulled his own trigger, now shooting to kill, but the President was already moving. The bullet skimmed his arm as he took off down the hall.

Time slowed as Pietor sprinted over to David and slid to a halt next to him. Blood was everywhere.

David gasped in a breath, eyes wide with shock and the comprehension of what had just happened.

Pietor jammed his hands down on the wound "Come on, bud, talk to me."

David opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

"Come on. You're alright. You're fine." Pietor said, pressing down hard "It's not bad. It's not bad. You're okay."

There wasn't a reply.

"David." Pietor said despairingly.

David sighed and gave a weak smile. Pietor stopped, looking down at his friend.

David held the smile "You're so serious, Pietor."

Then with a final breath, he closed his eyes.

###

"The President took off." Anastasia said as Raven came up to them "His men went with him."

"Where are Pietor and David?" she asked.

"I don't know. They probably have the children and are keeping hidden until it's safe. Let's move." Anastasia said. Nero and Darkdoom followed quickly along with Raven, Iliana, the Colonel, and the students.

They burst through the Convit buildings front doors in case there were still enemy men.

"What's wron-" Darkdoom broke off, realizing why Anastasia and Nero had stopped. Raven slowly walked up beside them.

Pietor knelt beside David, one hand still on his chest, covered in blood, head bowed. Anastasia took in a quiet breath.

Iliana came in quickly and Nero silenced her with a hand. Raven blinked several times. Iliana's hand reached to cover her mouth.

Pietor didn't move, didn't speak.

All three of the students watched, completely quieted for once.

Anastasia slowly walked over to her brother and got down beside him. Gently, she touched his shoulder. Nero watched them for a second, before gingerly putting a hand on Raven's back. Iliana stared, mouth pressing together tightly and she swallowed.

Anastasia moved her thumb back and forth on Pietor's back, looking at him, than David.

###

The sun shone brightly, making the snow sparkle, the next few mornings later. People slowly walked past the flower filled casket. A dark-haired woman stood at the front, chin held up, slowly shaking hands with the guests. David's mother.

They laid flowers on the table and set vases down, before going over to the group of people huddled together. The big tan dog sat a few feet away under the blue tent that had been set up

Pietor, Anastasia and Iliana stood near the bed of flowers. Anastasia had one hand intertwined with her brothers and was squeezing gently.

A group of about forty kids watched a few feet away, most of them crying softly. Nero, Darkdoom, and Raven were near the Furans, standing silently. Shelby leaned against Wing, who had one arm around her. Laura pressed against them, head bowed slightly.

The men and woman still coming gave hugs to the ones around the casket, eyes gentle and sorrowful.

###

Later that night, the flower petals seemed to dance in the wind on the freshly dug grave. Flowers surrounded the stone still and several pictures lay around it.

The inscription read:

_They needed a laugh in heaven. Goodbye David. _


	38. The Aftershock

**Please review.**

No one really spoke for the next couple of days. It was quiet for the most part. They would nod at each other or make quick queries, but that was all.

Iliana remained mostly at home, although the days she did come, she tried to smile and put on her brave front. However, she was struggling just like the rest of them. Pietor was back to his quiet, calculating personality he had had while they were at H.I.V.E. and Anastasia was doing her best to get through to him for now.

Nero and Darkdoom stayed very close to Raven for the majority of the time, one or the other. She wasn't revealing much, but they knew she had to be hurting pretty badly.

The President for another matter, had not announced their betrayal, whether out of kindness or something else, they did not know. Alex, the colonel of the Convit, had left with him, as he was nowhere to be found.

This morning, Pietor had left somewhere and he had told no one where he was going. Anastasia wasn't worried, as she knew he would tell her where if it was somewhere important.

Shelby was particularly quiet, but all the students were keeping to themselves. The Colonel stayed around Nero, staying quiet, but watching always.

Anastasia was making breakfast in the kitchen, the first time since the attack. Nero and Darkdoom were in the kitchen with the quiet Shelby. Raven had promised Nero she would come down to eat as he hadn't seen her do that since the funeral.

"There you are." Anastasia said, setting down a plate of hot pancakes in front of Shelby.

"Thanks, Anastasia." she replied, picking up a fork.

The kitchen door swung open and Raven came in, followed by Wing and Laura.

"Good morning." Anastasia said, although she knew her words would have little to no effect.

Raven nodded at her, face dull as it had been the past couple of days.

When they ate, as Nero monitored Raven carefully, it was quiet except for when Nero and Anastasia would speak.

"Oh, shishkabob." Shelby growled, setting down her fork and picking up a strand of her hair. It was dripping with syrup.

"You would look even better with it all over your head." Darkdoom said.

Shelby scowled at him and he smiled.

"Would you like that?" he lifted up the syrup bottle and tipped it threateningly. Shelby ducked and shoved his arm away.

"Where did Pietor get off too this morning?" Darkdoom asked, setting the bottle back down.

"I don't know." Anastasia replied "He left pretty early though."

Darkdoom nodded.

###

**Later that afternoon…**

Pietor pulled his truck into the gate and cut the engine. He stepped out of his car and walked around to the back bed. There was a big dog kennel sitting there and he grabbed the top handle to heave it out.

The dog inside didn't make a sound as he walked in to his house.

Nero and the others, except Anastasia and Laura, who was in her room, were sitting in the main room and glanced up as he came in and set the kennel down. No one said anything as Pietor unlatched the door and opened it. Then he turned and walked into the kitchen, not even looking at them.

Keesha didn't get out of the cage. She didn't even pick up her head, which was resting down on her paws. Raven looked away, slightly.

Drake, apparently having smelled the new dog in the house, came running down the stairs, tail waving vigorously. Nero watched them carefully, not sure if there was going to be a fight or not.

However, Drake went over to her, sniffing at her face. He laid down, front paws in the kennel and tail wagging.

###

"I've never seen a dog follow a laser like that." Darkdoom said, watching the dog in amusement.

Drake skittered across the floor, persistently following the red beam that Anastasia was flicking around. He chased after it and at the last second, she would move it and he would sit for a second until it came back into view.

Anastasia had also coaxed Keesha out. She was sitting by the couch like a queen, eyes blinking slowly as she watched Drake play.

The red light hovered at the edge of a couch and Drake shot forward, paws extended on the spot. Everyone chuckled softly as he sniffed where it should have been, then looked up at them, head tilted.

"Can I try?" Shelby asked. Anastasia handed it to her, smiling. The student pointed it at the floor, without pressing the button down.

Drake twisted around himself, paws pattering, as he tried to find the light. Shelby smiled and turned it on. The dog crouched, rump wiggling. He leaped once again, unsuccessfully, as it disappeared.

Keesha slowly lowered herself to her stomach and laid her head down, ears sagging gently. Anastasia glanced at her, but didn't say anything. Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she pulled it out.

"Get it, Drake. Get it!" Shelby encouraged the dog. He sprang at the light, tail waving vigorously.

Nero leaned over to Anastasia. "Have you spoken to Pietor about continuing the search for the President?" he asked quietly.

She was typing something into her phone and looked up "Yes and he agrees with you. Since our men were barely in the fight, we don't need to waste time. But I haven't seen him go near them to strategize the next move."

"I understand if he wants more time." Nero said "I've spoken with Natalya and she says she's ready when we are, but she isn't trying to rush the preparations at all."

Anastasia nodded "That's alright. I'll talk to Pietor tonight." she glanced at her phone "However, do you mind if I run out? I need to go to David's house to pick up a few things."

"Go right ahead." Nero replied, sitting back.

She got up and walked up the stairs to her room to grab her coat. Drake stopped following the laser to watch her, until she was out of sight. Then, he started playing again. Shelby smiled and whipped the laser to one side.

Nero glanced at Raven, who watched, her face carefully neutral. She hadn't spoken to him or anyone for that matter about the recent developments and it was starting to worry him a bit.

Pietor closed the door to his room and came out. Keesha immediately stood up and started to follow him. Her short stubby tail wiggled slightly, the first anyone had seen since the funeral. He went over to the stairs just as Anastasia was coming back down.

"Where you going?" Pietor asked, turning after her slightly. She glanced back, smiling slightly.

"Out."

Pietor watched her for a second, scowling as she left. Keesha went to lie down at the bottom of the stairs and Drake abandoned Shelby to go over to her. The student followed them, shoving Pietor's arm playfully as she went to sit down. He mostly just glanced behind at her, scowling still.

"Is she staying here then?" Darkdoom asked, nodding at the dog. Then question wasn't so much genuine as knew the answer, but he wanted to break the tension that now built in the air between them with Pietor.

"For now." Pietor said as he came over and sat down "His mother will mostly likely take her off our hands."

"And what did she say?" Nero asked, looking at him steadily "About continuing after the President?"

Pietor didn't reply for a minute. He wasn't looking up at them.

"She said it was our decision. She's not going to intervene with that." he replied finally.

Nero nodded.

"Although when we _do _go, I suggest we consider our strategy a bit more. Not just a brute force attack." Raven said, only a bit quieter than usual. Nero glanced at her, relieved to hear her say something like that.

Pietor, however, seemed to tense. His eyes narrowed. "What do you mean by that?"

Raven glanced at him "I don't mean anything. It's just that we went in a little…unprepared."

"What else did you want?" Pietor asked, anger seeping into his voice "I told you exactly what I knew."

"You have to admit, we went in a little blind." Raven said "Neither of you seemed to have a clue that things like this could happen."

"Don't even think about blaming me or my sister for what happened." Pietor growled "The President has never had that many men with him and I know that."

"I wasn't trying to blame you, Pietor." Raven said "I'm just saying that if the children hadn't been in there in the first place, we might have stayed closer together."

Everyone else was silent now, gazing at the fiery conversation. Shelby looked over from her spot by the dogs. Nero especially looked on edge, a hand unconsciously sliding closer to Raven's arm.

Pietor glared at her "We couldn't have possibly known those kids would be there. They weren't supposed to be and besides that, we would never think the President would have the guts to shoot at us."

"I thought you were supposed to know the President, Pietor? Isn't that was you said?" Raven asked, bristling uncomfortably.

"Don't give me that. I did exactly what I was supposed to do and I couldn't have stopped this anymore than you could have." Pietor growled.

"Alright stop it you two." Nero said, but Raven was too fired up to care at the moment. Pietor simply ignored him.

"If you and David had stayed together, you might have found the President _together_." Raven said angrily.

"If we had stayed together, the President's men would have caught us and we couldn't have done a damn thing with him holding those kids hostage."

"Those kids shouldn't have been there in the first place!" Raven hissed.

"No they shouldn't have!" Pietor snarled "But you know what? That's not my fault!"

"You told us that you would be able to take care of it without any problem. If we'd known you couldn't, we might have sent more men out there." Raven replied angrily.

"Don't blame _me _because you're angry that _you_ can't tell the guy you like that you care about him." Pietor spat "That's not my fault."

"No, it's just your fault for being a son of a bitch and abusing children here, Pietor!" Raven snapped.

At that, Pietor's face changed. He stared at her, seeming to want to say something, even though all eyes remained on him. He stood up and Raven's eyes twitched slightly, but she didn't move.

Pietor slid out from around the couches, grabbing his coat from the side table. He walked toward the garage door and before going out, he ran an agitated hand through his hair.

Raven stared at the ground as the door slammed, face hard. Nero and Darkdoom looked at her, but didn't seem to know what to say. She also stood up abruptly and turned to walk up the stairs.

###

Iliana pulled her bagels out of the toaster and quickly put them on her plate. Then she went to the fridge to get two eggs to cook.

Clicking on the stove, she gently cracked one of them into a bowl.

Her phone went off with a buzz and flashing of the screen. Iliana tossed the shell into the trash and twirled around to wipe of her hands. Then she grabbed her phone.

**Pietor: **_Whatcha doing?_

She smiled and rolled her eyes.

**Iliana: **_Eating a late breakfast thing. You? :)_

**Pietor: **_Nothing. May I come over? *politely*_

**Iliana: **_Nope._

**Iliana: **_ Jk! See you in a few!_

_###_

Raven set her phone on her dresser and went over to her drawers. Slowly, she started to search through them and she pulled out a shirt that was wrapped up with a ribbon tied around it. It was red and very soft with a Russian saying on it.

"_Do you not eat refined sugar?" David asked, looking at her with a smile._

"_I do. Just not very often." Raven said._

She hated crying. She really did. It made her feel very vulnerable and she rarely let anyone see her. But Raven couldn't stop the ache in her throat and it brought tears to her eyes. She sat down on the side of her bed.

She'd never stood up to Pietor like that, telling him how she really felt. When she was younger, she would have been beaten by a bunch of their guards for the day, or sometimes Pietor himself. But now, both him and Anastasia were somewhat different. Or at least trying harder to be decent people.

And now that she'd spat in his face, she felt somewhat guilty. At the moment it had felt good, but his reaction had shocked her. He hadn't even seemed angry. He must be grieving for David just as badly and perhaps even worse.

Raven wiped her eyes angrily. It wasn't fair. David hadn't deserved to die. And it was just stupid because…

There were soft footsteps on the carpet and Raven looked behind her with red eyes.

Nero looked at her a second as she turned her head back, avoiding his gaze.

"I know I shouldn't have said it." she said, taking in a deep breath, which did nothing to help her tears.

Nero walked around the bed and sat down next to her. Raven didn't look at him, but tried to keep her face forward, so he didn't see her eyes. It failed however.

"I wasn't going to say that." Nero said "Are you alright?"

Raven let out a bitter breath and an involuntary gasp, which always happened when she cried.

"Yeah, it's just, this is so hard." she said "I mean it's hard on you, on Pietor, on Iliana, and all the students, and the other kids. On Anastasia and Diabolus. And now I've gone and made it awkward between us. It's just…"

"That's not what I said. Are _you _alright?" Nero repeated, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Raven sighed and wiped a tear off her cheek "No…no I'm not. It's just so stupid. David did nothing wrong. And maybe if we had never come here, they wouldn't have actually attacked and then…"

"And later, we'd have to face the Convit with G.L.O.V.E." Nero replied gently "We would have still been dragged into all this and I knew that from the first time they asked us to join them."

"But everything went wrong." Raven said quietly. Nero looked at her.

"Tell me."

Raven was silent for a second, then slowly began to speak "I guess I've never imagined the Furans being any different than they were. I thought when we came here it was all going to be very professional and quick. I didn't think we'd go to dances, or out to dinner. I feel like, maybe if we'd kept it as a tunnel visioned mission, none of this would have happened."

Nero nodded "I understand." he paused "But even through the weeks we had to wait for the right time. And even though it may have seemed like a waste of time, a lot of bonding was done. It was good for them to learn how to trust other people. And you. I'd rather we enjoyed our time here than kept it cold and reserved all month. And…we can grieve the passing of a friend together, instead of trying to shove it all into the Furans."

"It's just not fair." Raven said "He didn't have to die. Why him? He didn't hurt anyone…or do anything wrong."

"But, Natalya. Who could have stood in his place?" Nero asked.

Raven didn't reply to that, knowing really that there was no right answer.

Nero sighed quietly "I suppose, living here for so long as a child, you didn't know the risks of allowing your heart to open up so much to someone." he leaned and met her gaze "You always have had to learn the hard way."

"Then what was the point of everyone encouraging me?" Raven asked "If the risk never pays off, then what's the point?"

Nero brought in a deep breath "I guess the point is to enjoy it while you can and…you did."

Raven looked at the ground and slowly began to shake her head "You always have a way around everything I say."

Nero smiled "That's why I'm a teacher."

Raven smiled slightly, but it faded quickly. She covered her face with her hands, letting out a stressed breath "And now Pietor's going to tell Anastasia what I said and everything's going to be awkward."

"I highly doubt he will, Natalya." Nero said "Pietor wants nothing more than to protect her from her past."

Raven slowly nodded and sighed "I miss him, Max. I really do."

"I know." Nero put an arm around her and she rested her head on his shoulder. He looked at the wall in front of him, eyes focused "Don't worry, I know."

###

Anastasia closed her car door as she walked back into her home. She noticed Pietor's truck was gone and wondered if they'd all gone somewhere.

Opening the door, she called "Anyone home?"

There was silence for a few seconds, then she heard a call that sounded like Shelby.

"Yeah! We're upstairs!"

Anastasia slipped off her coat, the keys jingling softly as she hung it over her arm. She went over to the stairs and walked up. Peeking into each of the rooms, she finally found the one.

Wing and Shelby were on the bed, talking. They glanced up as she came in.

"It is just you two?" she asked in surprise.

Shelby nodded "The others went for a walk about an hour ago, so they should be back soon. Wing and I stayed."

"Where'd Pietor go?"

"I actually don't know. He left a little bit after you did." Shelby replied, with a shrug. Anastasia frowned slightly.

"Alright. Carry on then." she turned to go back out of the room.

To prove what Shelby said, the door downstairs opened. Nero and Darkdoom were talking to each other and it got louder as they came in. Anastasia walked down the stairs, one hand sliding along the railing as she did.

"Where did you guys go and walk for an hour?" she asked, breaking up Nero and Darkdoom's rather zealous conversation. They glanced over at her amused face.

"Oh hi. We just followed the same place we went last time." Nero said.

"For an _hour_?" Anastasia asked.

"Amazing but true." Raven said, walking over to the couches "Those two slow a bit when they argue." Laura nodded her agreement.

Anastasia smiled as Darkdoom and Nero looked at her.

"We weren't arguing." Darkdoom said "He just wants me to admit that he's right so we can both be wrong."

"Excuse me." Nero said "You're th-"

"Do you two happen to know where Pietor ran off too?" Anastasia interrupted, smiling. Raven glanced over slightly.

"Uhh…no." Darkdoom said "But he left a little while after you."

She sighed "That's what Shelby said too. He's such a freaking rascal." she took out her phone and went to lean against the couch as she texted him.

**Anastasia: **_Where did you disappear too?_

…

…

…

**Pietor: **_Iliana's. Are you home now?_

…

…

…

**Anastasia: **_Yep_

…

…

…

**Pietor: **_We will be there in a few minutes_

…

…

…

**Anastasia: **_Don't let me bug you if you're having fun._

…

…

…

**Pietor: **_All good. We went out to dinner. Had fun. Iliana wants to come over._

…

…

…

**Anastasia: **_Okie dokie see you soon._

**Missing David? Don't worry me too. I kind of wrote this in a rush sorry. BTW, the President got away, don't forget.**

**Not Fun Fact: 78 million people were killed in WW2. 67% were civilians. **

**Please Review!**


	39. Healing Takes Time

**Please Review!**

**I love how Iliana is like the only girl that can stick her tongue out at Pietor without getting smacked upside the head (Raven) and looking dumb (Anastasia). :) **

**I hope this isn't rushed…**

Pietor punched the heavy bag in front of him and it swung forward slightly. He hit it again, each blow enough to knock someone out permanently if he did it correctly. He swung a quick kick at the side of it, then stood back and circled it, trying to imagine who he desired most to be inflicting this on.

He struck with his elbow, then his other fist quickly followed, only a heartbeat in between. Sweat slid off the side of his head, next to his ear.

"_Come on, bud, talk to me."_

"_You're so serious, Pietor."_

"_No! It's just your fault for abusing children here, Pietor!"_

"_If you and David had stayed together, you might have found the President together!"_

Pietor flicked a wrist and aimed a fierce hit in the center of the bag.

"_Oh hey, Pietor, don't forget about your game tonight."_

"_Is he ever unhappy? Because I have never seen a frown cross his face."_

"_David, you have been a long and faithful partner. I am thankful to have worked with you."_

The bag swung up and flew back at him. Pietor kicked it forward and whipped around to hit the side of it. The chain it hung on clanged loudly and he stopped, chest heaving up and down.

It was nearly four in the morning and still very dark outside. He was down in his training room, as not to wake anyone up. Iliana had come home with him and spent the night in their guest room, not wanting to stay at her house alone. He had found himself unable to sleep with her here for some reason and had come to let off his energy. He didn't know why. In fact, he would rather be sleeping right now, but whenever he lay down, no sleep came.

It was becoming worse, not better.

To calm his nerves, he would go to take a glimpse of Anastasia sleeping peacefully, but he didn't want to disturb her again. Exercising seemed the only way to get it out.

This wasn't the way it was supposed to have happened. Nero and Raven coming here was supposed to fix everything, as Anastasia had said. They were supposed to be done with this. He hadn't known that the first attack would lead to such a life altering event. He hadn't known they would have to attack twice. The morning of the attack, he'd imagined that night as one of celebration…

Pietor smacked the heavy bag hard, muscles tense.

###

Shelby took another bite of her cereal "And you have been training for how long?"

Iliana frowned and crossed her eyes for a second "Like ten? Trust me, this had been a lifelong dream, but the Olympics are a hard thing to achieve."

"I can tell." Shelby said, scraping her bowl "What does it involve doing, besides training?"

Shelby, Raven, and Iliana were in the main room eating breakfast, which included, cereal, toast, and orange wafer cookies, oddly enough. Nero and Anastasia had gone with the Colonel to discuss with the men. Pietor hadn't come down from his room yet and Darkdoom and the other two students were in the kitchen.

"Oh where to begin." Iliana said "Well first you have to exercise every single day. Then you have to get the proper amount of sleep. But the hardest part is probably eating. I had to quit sugar completely for about a year, with a few slips mind you. And you have to eat lots of fruits and vegetables."

Shelby laid her head back "Sounds like a lot of work."

"It is." Iliana said "But if you make it, it's worth it."

"And if you don't, you've wasted half your life." Raven said.

Shelby looked a bit disconcerted. Iliana rolled her eyes.

"I love how encouraging you are." she said, nudging Raven slightly.

"I'm just being realistic. I mean if you've got your whole life ahead of you, then I guess it's great." Raven replied, with a shrug.

"Well I don't think I'm that old." Iliana said, folding her arms.

"I didn't mean you." Raven said "I just meant in general."

"Uh huh." Iliana nodded sarcastically. She clicked on her phone to look at the time "Hey I'm going to run to my house really fast, anyone want to come?"

"Sure." Shelby said.

"Is Max going to send you with me now too?" Iliana asked, looking at Raven skeptically "Like last time? Because apparently I come off untrustworthy."

"That's not why I went." Raven lied.

"Oh you don't need to protect him, sweetie." Iliana said, patting her leg "We shan't be gone long."

"Bye." Raven said pointedly.

"Tell Dr. Nero where I've gone, because he'll maim me if I just disappear." Shelby called as they went out the door.

"Then I'd better not tell him." Raven muttered, but it couldn't be heard over the door slamming. She looked around the room silently for a second. It dawned on her that this is where the Furans had lived while she was training. She'd never really thought she'd ever come back here. Or end up growing close to any of the Furans friends.

A door upstairs opened and shut, waking her up quickly. Pietor came around the corner of stairs and trotted down at his usual pace. Raven glanced over and paused for a second.

"Good morning." she said quietly as he neared.

Pietor didn't say anything as he picked up the papers from the side table. He didn't look at her either and she kept her gaze carefully away. She could feel the awkward tension rising in herself and it wasn't a comfortable feeling. He hadn't spoken to her at all since she'd stood up to him and seemed to be avoiding her.

Thankfully, the side door opened and Nero came in with Anastasia.

"Sleep in?" Anastasia asked, walking toward her brother. Nero looked at Raven and motioned something with his hand.

Pietor twirled a finger in the air, while turning around himself. He walked toward the kitchen and disappeared behind the door. Anastasia scowled slightly.

"I think that's his way of saying follow me, but I can never be sure." she went after him to the kitchen. In fact, she was a bit troubled at what she had walked in on. Pietor and Raven had seemed on edge.

Raven got up slowly as Nero came over.

"What did he say?" he asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Raven shook her head "Nothing. He won't speak to me." she glanced after the Furans, looking a little distressed "He's going to tell her. It's awkward enough as is."

"He's not going to tell. If he was going to tell her, he would've told her last night." Nero said "He's not going to say anything with Diabolus and the students in there, especially."

"Speaking of which" Raven said, trying to shake away worry "Shelby went with Iliana to her house to pick something up."

"Just barely?" Nero asked and she nodded.

"Let's hope they come back before midnight."

###

**About an hour later…**

"We're back!" Iliana called into the seemingly abandoned place. Well, not abandoned, just quiet. Shelby came in after her. The both had little bundles in their hands that squirmed every once in a while.

"Wow." Iliana said, looking at the empty couches "There's usually at least one of your lot moping around in here."

"Hey!" Shelby called, and her voice echoed, but no one answered.

"Well they've got be around her somewhere. All the cars are here." Iliana said. The two of them went to search. When they were quiet, you could hear faint voices. After a moment, they both realized it was coming from Pietor's training room.

"I hope they're surprised." Iliana said, smiling as they went over and in.

For a moment, they still couldn't see anyone, but they looked over at the pit. Raven and Wing were both in the cage, battling back and forth, arms continually locked in combat. Nero, Darkdoom, and Anastasia stood next to the bars that blocked off the pit, discussing, without really watching the training session. The Colonel however, watched it, with hands clasped behind his back.

"We're back!" Iliana called and they glanced back for a second. Anastasia stared as they came over.

"What do you have there?" she asked skeptically.

Shelby and Iliana both held up the kittens they had in their hands. Nero scowled at Shelby and she shrugged happily.

"People were selling kittens on the side of the road while we were driving back." Iliana said. She cuddled her black kitten to her chest, where it rubbed its head and purred.

"And you bought them?" Anastasia asked, eyes flicking between the two cats. Iliana nodded.

Shelby had a white and brown one, with little tufts on the tips of its ears. Laura leaned to see and quickly came over.

"Are they just the sweetest things you've ever seen?" Iliana said as the girls made affectionate murmurs.

"Well, they're _your _cats." Anastasia said, reaching over to scratch the black kitten's head "However cute."

"I have to name them." Iliana said.

"Go right ahead."

"Pietor…" Iliana said, looking around.

"I hope that's not the name you've chosen." Anastasia said.

Iliana shot her a look "No. I was just wondering where he was."

"Not in here."

"Here. Hold her." Iliana gave the kitten to Nero, who leaned back slightly, one hand under the bundle and eyes wide. Iliana took out her phone as he passed the kitten over to Laura. She texted Pietor, then bent over to look at her new cat's faces, smiling.

"How much did they cost each?" Anastasia asked.

"About a hundred roubles." Iliana said "Aren't they just adorable? Ooo! I could just eat them up!"

Raven knocked Wing to the ground in the pit and offered him a hand back up. She was about to speak and give him some advice when Iliana called:

"Hey Raven girl! Come see my new cats!"

Raven looked up slightly to see her and Iliana beckoned her. She scowled up at her and Iliana made a face.

"Fine don't ya big jerk!" she replied, turning away. Darkdoom shot Raven an amused look and she narrowed her eyes at him. She said something to Wing before turning to get out of the round pit.

Iliana now held her black one and it clawed its way up her chest to her shoulder. It meowed high-pitchedly and rubbed under her neck, purring.

Raven and Wing came over and Iliana stuck out her tongue at Raven, then smiled and scrunched up her nose.

"They're so cuddly!"

"Just so cute." Raven replied.

"Hold her." Iliana shoved the cat to Raven, making sure she took it. Raven cringed slightly, holding the cats straight out in front of her with both hands. Iliana rolled her eyes.

"Relax, little girl, it won't bite."

Raven shot her a look "Would you mind using my real name?"

"Yes, your majesty." Iliana replied "Now, _hold _my cat. Like this." she pushed Raven's arms closer to her body and the cat was able to rub against her chin, tiny eyes closing in contentment.

"Aww…see?" Iliana stepped back in admiration "You're a natural."

"Mmmhmm. Want to take her back now?" Raven mumbled around the kitten. Iliana took the animal back, still smiling in satisfaction.

The door to the room opened. Iliana jumped in excitement as Pietor walked in and started toward them. Raven avoided eye contact by quickly switching her gaze to the kitten.

He raised an eyebrow at Iliana, the rest of his face scowling "What do you want?"

Iliana held up the kitten, her smile beaming.

"I think she wants to show you the new kittens she got while we were out." Shelby said, with a "duh" quality to her voice. Pietor looked at both of the cats, his scowl deepening.

"Ta da! Aren't they cute?" Iliana squealed.

"Adorable. But what are they doing here?" Pietor asked testily.

"I brought them here!" Iliana replied.

"Yeah and I really hope you don't expect them to stay." Pietor said, tilting his head slightly to look at the cat. He tapped it on the nose once being turning around to leave, shaking his head slightly.

As the door shut, Iliana turned back to the others her face still cheerful oddly.

"I think that went rather well."

"I don't think he looked happy at all." Shelby objected, looking a bit disappointed at Pietor's reaction.

"_Pietor?_" Iliana said "Did you expect him to start doing cartwheels around the room?"

###

"I spoke with Pietor last night." Anastasia said to Nero, who nodded. "He says he wants to leave tomorrow if possible. He predicts that the President will touch down on the Convit military base about three hours from here."

"Wouldn't he have done that already?" Nero queried "He's been gone for a week and a day. How do we know he isn't long gone?"

"He hasn't landed." Anastasia replied "Pietor can track this with the devices at the Convit building. The President's aircraft hasn't touched down this whole time. And he will have too soon. Pietor believes that it where he will want to go immediately."

"Doesn't that create an obstacle? If he's landing at a _military _base that is completely under his control. Do we know how many soldiers he'll have there?" Nero asked. Both of them were up in Anastasia's room, careful to speak in low tones so they could talk without being interrupted.

"Precisely. He has two hundred men at each military base in Russia and with some others there are far more, but the one here has the minimum of two hundred." Anastasia replied "We can match that easily."

"Is Pietor still willing to perform a _capture_?" Nero asked "Or do we kill him on sight?"

"We will try to take him alive at first." Anastasia said "But…if that proves unsuccessful all orders are off. If he's dead, Pietor can still shut down the Convit with his own authority if there is no one to challenge him."

Nero nodded "Are we starting with negotiations?"

"I don't think so. Pietor wants to do it in one run. Fast. We can overwhelm them with force and take the President then." Anastasia said.

Nero nodded again "So we will go in together as a group?"

Anastasia nodded. She paused. "Although Pietor has been trying to convince me just to let him and Natalya go." she let out a deep breath. "He tried again this morning."

Both of them went silent for a moment.

"I'm sorry it happened like this." Nero said with a sigh "It wasn't fair that David was taken away like that, especially from Pietor."

"And Natalya." Anastasia said. For some reason, her eyes almost seemed to narrow at the mention of her brother, which Nero found odd.

"But life goes on." Anastasia continued, sounding slightly defensive.

Nero wasn't sure what had agitated her, but decided it wasn't worth pursuing. He simply nodded.

There were loud footsteps from the hallway outside her door and they looked over. Iliana poked her head in.

"Hey. Want to come see the most adorable thing in your life?"

"Is it your cats?" Anastasia asked, raising an eyebrow "_Again_?"

"Nope. Well sort of. Just come here." Iliana beckoned them eagerly and disappeared from view.

Nero and Anastasia both rolled their eyes and shook their heads at each other before following. They went down the stairs, where Iliana put a firm finger to her lips to emphasize the point to shut up. She slowly approached the couch, where Pietor was apparently sleeping. He had his arms crossed behind his head and his eyes were closed.

Iliana gestured at them to continue forward to her vantage point where they would be able to see the adorable part.

Anastasia smiled slightly at the sight.

The black kitten was curled up in the crook of his neck, asleep just like him. The tufted ear one was cuddled up in his arm, head up and looking at them.

Iliana covered her mouth with wiggling fingers, eye gleaming.

"Isn't that precious?" she whispered. Anastasia nodded.

"Shelby saw it first and came and got me." Iliana said "So sweet." she looked in affection for a moment, then turned back to them, cheerfulness fading slightly. "So we leave tomorrow after the President?"

Anastasia and Nero looked at her for a second, irritably.

"You were listening in?" Anastasia asked pointedly. Iliana shrugged.

"Sorry, it just happens sometimes."

Nero's eyes narrowed a bit in annoyance; glad they hadn't said more with each other.

"Yes we are." Anastasia said "Come with us, I want to show you our plan." her and Nero started walking toward the door to the other hangar and Iliana followed, her good mood fading. The kittens had helped in the moment, but now that the thought of their impending attack was back, all her grief and nervousness came back. She glanced back at Pietor.

###

**A little while later…**

Raven came down the stairs, expecting to see Nero and Darkdoom there. She remembered then that Darkdoom was helping the Colonel for the day, but Nero was nowhere to be seen. She looked around and only spotted Pietor, who was now sitting upright on the couch, reading something on his phone. The cats were both asleep on the couch cushions, their tails tucked over their noses.

Raven slowly continued down the stairs. She tried not to feel intimidated by him being there alone. Maybe not intimidated, but just _awkward_. He was just so different these days and she wasn't sure what to think.

Drake got up from his spot next to the couch. He went over to Raven, tail waving, and inwardly, she cringed. _Go away dog_.

Pietor's eyes flicked to her for a second, but they didn't stay. Raven slid past the excited dog, even though he followed her, closer to the couches. She wanted to talk about their plan for when they attacked the President, but wasn't sure how to start. She was worried he wouldn't speak to her at all.

After all, now that David was gone, she would have to go side by side with Pietor and wanted this resolved _now_. She sat down and Drake tried to get up and sniff at her face, but Pietor snapped two fingers, without looking up. The dog whirled around and immediately went over to him. Then he started sniffing at the two bundles of fur that lay on the couch. He nosed at the black kitten, who raised a head slightly. Then he ran a long tongue over its head and the cat put a paw on his nose, claws barely out.

Raven watched this silently for a second until Drake apparently decided he might find more interesting people elsewhere. He trotted past Raven and started hopping up the stairs. She glanced after him, then continued to sit in silence for a couple more moments. Pietor still didn't look at her.

Raven sighed "Look." she paused slightly "I'm sorry for what I said yesterday. It was way out of line." she noticed he shuffled slightly as she spoke; changing positions "You and Anastasia have been great while we've been here."

Pietor didn't reply for several seconds, then he cleared his throat "Is that the script Nero wrote for you or did you come up with that on your own for once?"

Raven looked at him for a moment, shocked, and still trying to get her head around what he'd just said. He knew it was a nerve.

"What did you say to me?" she asked, eyes narrowing with her scowl.

"Do I need to repeat it?" Pietor asked, dropping his phone on the table and looking at her for the first time. Raven stared back, gaping slightly in disgust.

"I came to apologize, Pietor!" she snapped.

"You did? Oh I'm sorry I missed act one, do restart." Pietor replied sarcastically.

"What's your problem?" Raven asked angrily.

"No, what's _yours_?" Pietor asked, glaring at her.

"I don't have one! I was trying to resolve this before we had to attack again. But I guess you don't want that!" Raven snapped "Can you try to have a little understanding in your life?"

"I could've understood if you were just grieving at that point, but there's more to it, isn't there? You blame me." Pietor hissed.

"Blame you for what happened?"

"You blame me for everything." Pietor snapped "And I know it! But let me ask you. If we hadn't found you as a girl, where would you be now?" he leaned forward, eyes narrowing "_Dead_."

"How do you know that? I think I could've down just fine on my own! It was because of the two of you locking up children to torture for joy that ruined that!" Raven spat.

"Is that the kind of stuff you say around my sister? When I'm not around?" Pietor snapped.

"I haven't said one word to Anastasia." Raven retorted "Besides, I'm not the one throwing insults at _your _face-"

The door from the other hangar opened and Iliana came in.

"Oh no?" Pietor snapped "What was yesterday? The closest thing you've ever given to a compliment?"

"I told you I'm sorry, what more do you want?" Raven hissed "It's not as if you've been friendly!"

"What the hell is going on?" Iliana demanded, coming closer, eyes wide.

"What have I done to you and the others since you've been here?" Pietor asked, glaring at her again "At most I've minded my own business. Anastasia too. What are you trying to leap on?"

"I'm _not_." Raven spat "You're the one who's being so sensitive." she glared back "You know, maybe we shouldn't have some here. Maybe we should have left you to the Convit, because nothing we've done has seemed to make you happy. Or satisfied." That wasn't true. She knew as she said it that all of them had had some degree of fun in the past month, Pietor too, but she didn't care and she wasn't going to back down.

Iliana watched with angry eyes. The door opened again as Pietor and Raven continued arguing, not aware of the guests in the room. Nero and Anastasia strode in, apparently attracted by the noise. Darkdoom came in as they watched the fight, eyes big.

"You know what, maybe, you're right!" Pietor snarled back angrily.

"Do you believe David would have lived if we hadn't come here?" Raven asked, fury evident on her face "Is that what you're getting at? At any rate, you probably would've all been captured if the President hadn't known you had extra force behind you. And David _would still be gone_."

"Perhaps David wouldn't be dead at all if you could've taken those kids out instead of him. You said you met him while he was on his way. Why didn't you do anything?" Pietor snapped. They were now both on their feet and about a foot from each other. Raven wasn't willing to let him get away with that. It always had to come back to this; the most recent painful memory. However she felt like the bomb that had been building up for fourteen years finally broke loose.

"Stop it!" Anastasia said fiercely, looking at both of them. The students appeared at the top of the stairs looking down at the arguing nervously.

"How dare you tell me what I could have done!" Raven yelled back at him "If anything it's your fault! You're the one who went in there with him!"

"And I was the only one with him when he died! You weren't there. You didn't make the effort!" Pietor shouted. Both Nero and Anastasia spoke, but were ignored and partly drown out, although all the yells echoed loudly.

"What was I supposed to do!" Raven spat "You can't even take down one man that was unarmed and completely unprepared!"

"Are you going to try and tell me you think you're better than me? Who taught who, Natalya!" Pietor snarled "If this is how you're going to be-"

"STOP IT!" Iliana shouted, both arms pushing the two of them apart. Her head whipped back and forth between them "Both of you!"

It went silent as Pietor and Raven looked at her, breathing hard, eyes still narrowed. Pietor seemed to make and immediate effort to calm as she stood in between them. Nero and Anastasia watched, each looking at their closest colleague.

"Now I don't know about you! But I don't think David wanted to leave this earth knowing that his friends were going to charge at each other!" Iliana went on fiercely. She turned her head, eyes narrowed "Pietor, I don't think he wanted you to attack the girl he cared about!" she looked at Raven "And you! I don't think he'd like you insulting his best friend! Just stop!"

After a second, both of them stood down, avoiding eye contact with each other, eyes on Iliana.

"You've probably heard this from multiple people by now, but I'll tell you again! You two are not the only ones who are grieving!" Iliana continued aggressively. "I've known David since I was a little girl and do you see me blaming anyone for his death? No!" she looked at both of them one at a time "And I won't stand here and let this happen. Don't you see?" she shook her head slightly "That's why he killed David so quickly. Because the President knew what would happen. You wonder why he's waited to do something? Because he wanted this to happen first." she stepped back "I don't want David to be watching us and find us going at each other's throats."

Pietor looked away slightly, while Raven continued to look at the ground.

"It wasn't anybody's fault. Neither of you could have prevented and neither of you are better than the other. If we want this to work, then we need to stick together more than ever." Iliana said "We can work together. If you would just _stop_. Because I'm not going to listen to it." she turned to pick up her two kittens and looked at Pietor and Raven.

"Please."

With that, Iliana turned and walked to the door. It slammed after a second and Pietor closed his eyes at the sound and opened them slowly. His jaw tightened as he turned away and walked up the stairs, past the students, without a word.

Raven didn't move. She just looked at the ground, head half tilted away from the others.

Nero glanced at Anastasia, who had her forehead resting on one knuckle, eyes closed. No one spoke.


	40. Tracking the President

**Please Review! **

**6:00 am**

"I haven't seen Raven that mad before." Shelby said quietly to Laura, who was looking anxious while sitting on the side of her bed. They weren't supposed to be up, but with everyone else who was leaving for the attack being up, sleeping wasn't really an option. Nero was making the two of them stay here while the others went, including Wing.

They could hear Nero and Darkdoom discuss things softly from in their room and out in the hall. The Colonel was busy with his men, as was Pietor. Raven and Anastasia hadn't been seen and Iliana hadn't come over yet.

"Not like that." Laura agreed. She didn't like hat fact that they were leaving without them. What if something else happened? She didn't want to be shocked when they came home, she wanted to _know_. What if they came home with someone else dead?

There were footsteps outside their room and immediately both girls scrambled to get under the covers of the bed. Nero would probably think they were trying to stow away if he saw them up.

Their door opened quietly just as Shelby shut her eyes. Nero leaned in, eyes narrowed. He watched them for a second.

"I know you're awake. I just wanted to let you know we're leaving in half an hour."

Shelby sighed and after a second, sat up "Really, why can't we go? I don't know if I can stand staying here…I'll go insane while waiting."

Nero's stern face didn't change "Too bad. I don't want you in this and that's final."

"But _Wing's_ going!" Shelby said irritably. She looked away as Nero narrowed his eyes. He didn't say anything as he silently shut the door again.

Darkdoom walked up to him from his room "Have you seen Natalya?"

Nero shook his head "Not this morning. Is she not in her room?"

"No. I guess she must have gone downstairs. Are they up?" Darkdoom asked, nodding at the student's door.

"Yes. And complaining already." Nero said. His friends smiled slightly as the two of them went towards the stairs and began to head down.

Raven, in fact, was speaking with Wing down on the bottom floor. She looked over at them as they came down. Her bag with her katanas were near her feet, leaning against the wall. Nero went over.

"Have you seen Anastasia?" he asked.

She shook her head "I haven't seen either of them since last night. She may have gone with Pietor, but I don't know."

Nero nodded. So none of them had spoken since the fight. How lovely. Although Anastasia hadn't seemed angry as she followed her brother up the stairs the night before.

The door from the outside swung open and they looked over. Iliana stepped in and shut out the cold air behind her. She twiddled her fingers at them.

"Little gathering right here." she said. She walked past them to come into the house. Raven deliberately didn't look at her. Iliana ignored it. She wasn't going to feel bad for breaking up a fight.

"Where are the masters of the house? Are they ready to go?" she asked.

"I think they're prepping with the men still." Nero said "Then we'll be able to leave."

At least he was still able to act decent under the circumstances. Iliana nodded and leaned back against the couches arm.

###

Anastasia walked with Pietor back to the main hangar. She honestly wasn't looking forward to this trip, even more than the first one. David's death had just proved once again how short life really could be and she didn't want to watch it happen again. Especially to Pietor.

She also dreaded having to ride for three hours in a car with both Pietor and Raven, who were at odds with each other and the reason was beyond her. She knew there was something Pietor wasn't telling her. At least Nero still seemed to be at ease, which for some reason made her feel less agitated.

Pietor opened the door for her as they walked through. Nero and the others were all there and it looked as if Iliana had just arrived.

Anastasia walked over as her brother kept his distance slightly, going to get his own personal weapons. Iliana watched him for a second, eyebrows raised. Then she followed.

"The men are loading into the transports." Anastasia said as she went up. Nero nodded.

"We can leave whenever we're ready." she went on "Are Shelby and Laura staying here?"

Nero nodded again "Has Pietor checked if the President has landed today?"

"Yes. It appears that he still hasn't. But he has to today or tomorrow. He doesn't have enough fuel reserves to stay up for longer than that." Anastasia said.

Pietor came back out of his room, looking irritated. Iliana was following him adamantly.

"Pietor, what are you saying?" she asked, grabbing his shoulder. He turned toward her slightly.

"I told you. You're not coming. You're staying here." he growled. Iliana opened her mouth to protest, but she stopped. He turned back away to keep walking.

"Pietor…" she said, trailing off as he didn't respond to that. All eyes followed Pietor for a second as he walked past them, then they looked at Iliana. She looked after him with a loud breath through her nose.

Anastasia shrugged helplessly at her and Iliana shrugged back, before turning to make her own way up the stairs.

"We can load in the cars." Anastasia said, waving a hand and going toward the garage door. Darkdoom and Wing followed her and so did Raven and Nero, but further back.

"It's my fault that this is so uncomfortable." Raven muttered to him "And now Pietor won't even let Iliana come to something that's she's more of a part of than I am."

"I don't think he's not letting her come because he's angry." Nero replied. Raven glanced at him, but he didn't look at her.

###

Shelby peeked open the door and looked out for a second. It appeared that they had left. The two of them walked out together and headed to the stairs.

"Hey!" a voice called.

Shelby glanced over. Iliana walked up to them.

"Are you guys banned from going too?"

Both of the students nodded and Iliana sighed.

"What do you guys want to do?" she asked after a moment.

"We get to _do _something?" Shelby asked, letting her spirits be lifted.

"Nope I was going to lock you in your rooms. Do you want to go out and get a hot fast food breakfast?" Iliana asked, with a slight roll of her eyes. Both of the girls nodded.

###

**Two hours later…**

For the first while in the car, everything was quiet and peaceful. Pietor was driving silently. Darkdoom and Wing had both gone with the Colonel, who was following them closely. Anastasia was reading a book in the passenger's seat. Raven was simply looking out the window, obviously deep in thought, and Nero held Pietor's tracker, checking it every so often to see if the President touched down. As Pietor had predicted, he still hadn't and the assassin believed he would today.

Raven watched the trees, which were white with snow, as they flew past. No matter how many times, she reminded herself or glanced forward, it was still hard to see Pietor and Anastasia in the front of the car. She honestly tried to stop herself from feeling uneasy every time she looked up, but it was involuntary. Then she could glance over at Nero and feel better almost instantaneously.

The strange thing was that she felt guilty about feeling that way. It wasn't as if it was unreasonable, but they'd been so nice to her while she was there. To all of them. But there was one another thing that she couldn't shake off and it made her upset every time.

When Pietor had picked up one of his basketball girls at the game after she had gotten injured. Raven knew she shouldn't let it bother her. But every time she imagined it, she found herself seeing herself in the girls place and the fact that she knew that would never happen, hurt.

What had she done to make Pietor despise her so much as a child? He'd even asked Anastasia if he could kill her once…

Then he'd gone and helped another girl who had a mild injury off the gym floor without hesitating. Seeing how kind he could be sent an ache through her and she wasn't sure why. He hadn't been kind to her so why should she care?

Raven felt her phone go off with its quiet buzz. After a moment of staring out the window a bit more, she reached to answer it. Nero glanced over slightly as she moved, but didn't say anything.

Raven looked at her phone and scowled at the unrecognizable number on the text. She opened it.

**Unknown: **_The President will land at 11:30 am this morning at the Convit base 358. He will have no more than one hundred men with him and he will be armed. Do not reply to this number. Signed-3._

Raven stared at it second, eyes wide. She was confused and for just a moment a twig of hope sprang in her before she roughly pushed it out. It had to be a trap.

"Max." she said.

###

Iliana was on her stomach, about two inches from her black kitten's face. Her cat was curled up next to the couch in the Furan's place. She looked up, blinking sleepily and sniffed at Iliana's face.

Shelby dragged a string around the room and the other kitten chased it. On the coffee table in front of them were several bags and boxes from their breakfast. They'd let the dogs in and Keesha was sitting at the bottom of the stairs, while Drake was nowhere to be found. They'd had to keep a close eye on him at first, so he didn't scare the kittens, but now he'd disappeared.

"You still haven't named them?" Laura asked. She was sitting on the couch, with her feet dangling near the black cat.

"Nope. I can't seem to find the right names for either of them." Iliana said, scooping up the kitten "Nothing fits yet."

"What's your other cat's name?" Shelby asked.

"Cleo."

"I think you should name this one Frisky." Shelby said, pointing at the tufted ear one. Iliana looked at her cat for a second as it ran around the couch, tail fluffed.

"I love it! Perfect!" she said happily. She looked back at the black cat. "I tried Night, and Panther, and Oreo, but nothing quite has the right ring! She kind of has a spicy personality and she's black."

"Pepper." Laura suggested "That's also spicy and black."

Iliana smiled hugely, then faded for a second "Isn't that kind of a male cat name?"

"Not really. Cat's names don't really separate like that." Shelby said.

"Okay great. Pepper and Frisky it is. Pepper, Frisky, and Cleo." Iliana looked satisfied. She looked around. "Speaking of which, where did Frisky get off too."

Both the students looked around for a second. The black and white kitten usually ran around the couch back to them.

Iliana gasped as Drake trotted from behind the couch. However, the dog had Frisky dangling from his mouth by the scruff. He held the cat up to Iliana, tail wagging.

"Freakin' heck." Iliana breather, taking it from him. The cat didn't appear at all hurt. Drake looked rather pleased with himself.

###

**11:15 am…**

A Convit military base was surrounded by eight foot high fences which were about half a mile from the actual building. Around the massive building, there was twenty feet of concrete, but grass extended to the fence beyond that. There were several bushes and trees around the grass, but surprisingly no men outside. In the fields were targets for shooting practice and on one side there was a basketball court. There was no sign of the President's ship.

Pietor had parked about a mile away and they had traveled to the base on foot. After Raven's unnerving text message, all of them were higher in anxiety. And they were extra cautious, wary it might be a trap.

The Furan's men sprinted in their lines to their positions surrounding the Convit military building. Pietor and the Colonel were giving orders and keeping their voices low. The men kept hidden, but stayed in spots where they could easily see anything going on on the outside of the building.

Nero and Anastasia gazed at the large building in front of them as Raven showed the message to Darkdoom again.

"Do we know who three is?" he asked, squinting at the message. Raven shook her head.

"No idea."

"Well if it's correct, it says the President will be armed." Wing said "I wonder if that means personally or guards protecting him."

"Either way, we need to be careful." Nero said, coming over "I don't know if I believe what the message says or not, but only waiting will tell."

"But I'm confused about the part saying 'do not reply'." Darkdoom said with a frown "If they were a friendly, they would contact us."

"Unless they're kept under guard and could be discovered easily." Raven said quietly. Nero glanced at her and opened his mouth to say something, but seemed to decide against it.

Anastasia beckoned them over to where Pietor and the Colonel were waiting and gazing at the base. Raven slung her sheath across her back so her katanas were held tightly in place. They knelt down to listen and watch.

Several minutes went by and there was nothing. Still, nobody moved or said a word. Raven began to be lost in thought, although her eyes remained alert and on the scene in front of her. Pietor, to her left, stared intently at the tracker. After a few more minutes, he spoke.

"Incoming."

Raven looked up. In the distance you could hear a loud thump of helicopter blades. Pietor and the others looked up into the sky.

After a moment of approaching the base, the transport slowly hovered over the landing spot next to the building. It painstakingly took its time while landing, but eventually the blades began to slow and settle down. The door slid open and the man who had murdered David stepped out, followed closely by Alex. Several men hopped down and trailed after them, armed each with a pistol strapped to their sides.

Pietor watched with narrowed eyes, itching to burst out and attack, but he waited. The President disappeared inside.

So far the message had been correct.

"Now let's see if he actually has the hundred men." Pietor growled, standing up. The others did the same.

They had only walked a few steps before they heard the unmistakable sound of gun fire. The Colonel put a hand to his ear piece quickly as a voice began to speak through it.

"Colonel. His men are out and firing. I do not believe they are shooting to kill. Are you on approach?"

"Yes. Where are they attacking?" the Colonel asked.

"On the west side of the building, sir. We don't have eyes on them. I think they're trying to warn us off."

"We're moving in. They must know we're here. I'll let you know if we need back up. For now, keep the President's men distracted."

"Roger that."

The Colonel relayed the message to the others, before they continued toward the building.

"Alright Natalya, go with the Colonel to the back." Nero said quietly to her "We'll try and get him trapped at all sides."

Raven nodded and waved slightly at the Colonel. Then Darkdoom Wing went to the east side and Pietor, Anastasia, and Nero all continued to the front. Pietor used his pass to open the door, relieved to find that the President still hadn't cleared his authority, for whatever reason.

The three of them quickly made their way down the halls to the center of the building, where there were several chairs and an arranged concessions stand with multiple kinds of refreshments.

"He'll be on the top floor." Pietor growled "He's going to-"

There was a loud bang and a bright flash, which immediately blinded all three of them. Pietor cursed aloud. Then dark gray smoke began to fill the room. From somewhere around the room came a voice.

"Drop all your weapons Furan! And call off this attack! The President doesn't want to have to hurt any of you!"

The guard and his two other men looked around, eyes narrowed as they waited for the smoke to clear. Just as they were starting to be able to see anything behind it, a shape landed behind them. To his credit, the first man was halfway turned before his neck was twisted sharply and he fell. The other two faced Pietor for a second, before they joined a similar fate, none of them having a chance to pull out their guns.

Nero helped Anastasia to her feet as more of the smoke cleared. Something about how the man had said that bothered him. Why didn't the President want to hurt them? He hadn't had trouble before. "Are you alright?"

"Fine." she looked around swiftly. Her brother was nowhere in sight. "Where did Pietor go?"

Nero shook his head "Didn't see him. Come on. We need to get to the upper level."

###

The President typed something into the computer quickly. He didn't know how long his men would be able to hold out if Pietor and the others were launching a full scale attack. On one side of the room was a single door and one the other, a double door. To ways in.

Alex stood next to him, arms folded and face serious. The guards had had to set off the flash-bang grenades obviously, judging by the loud boom downstairs. He knew they still had several minutes. Pietor and the others couldn't possibly get past their men that quickly, disoriented or not.

"Tell them I don't want Pietor harmed. They don't need to anything unnecessary to hold them off." the President said "We'll be out soon."

Alex nodded and slipped out the single door to where several of his men were waiting. The exit to their ship was only down the stairs from where they were at so they could escape quickly. The President continued typing at his rapid pace.

"Leaving so soon?" came a dark voice and he looked back. Pietor jumped down from the window that was between the two rooms inside. It was several feet high but he landed with ease.

The President stood up, turning to face him calmly.

"Hello Pietor."

"This isn't a discussion. You come quietly or I'll shoot you right here." Pietor responded coldly.

"Seems a bit hasty don't you think?" the man asked, smiling slightly.

"Make your choice." Pietor replied.

The double doors behind him burst open. Nero, Anastasia, Darkdoom, the Colonel, Raven, and Wing all stood at the entrance and they all walked in to stand next to Pietor. Both Anastasia and the Colonel had a gun out and already aimed at him.

"Well welcome everyone." the President surveyed them with a smile, eyes resting for a second on Nero and Raven.

"Nero? Those are the people you brought here?" he looked back at Pietor eyes narrowing. "Interesting."

Raven was glaring at him, her eyes like ice.

"I would ask for an introduction to all of you, but I'm afraid all I planned for was a quick visit before I had to leave." the President said, bowing his head slightly at them.

"You move, we shoot." Anastasia growled.

"I don't think so." Alex said, walking back through the door, pistol now in hand. The Colonel moved his aim to him, eyes narrowed.

"Oh dear this is a problem." the President said as Pietor glared at Alex. His friend avoided his gaze, looking at the others coolly.

You could hear the battle going on between the men outside still. The sound of several bullets flying through the air was only too recognizable.

"You're only going to end up costing the lives of your men." the President said "My guards will not hold them off without bloodshed forever."

"Neither will mine." Pietor said.

"Where's Iliana?" the President asked looking around suddenly "You didn't bring her this time? Really Pietor, am I that untrustworthy? After all she's worked for me just as long as you, if not longer."

"You're the one who went and damn well killed David." Raven hissed quietly. The President looked at her and Alex scowled.

"I know. I know sweetheart and I'm sorry. I really am. He was a great man." the President replied "My condolences for your pain. However unfortunate, it had to be done. David was too loyal to you, too easy to turn from us. And he kept you and your friends together."

"You _killed _David?" Alex asked in horror and disbelief, pistol lowering a couple of inches.

"It had to be done Alex. You know that." the President replied without looking at him. Alex stared at him a second, before reclaiming his position, but he looked less certain.

"Actually Pietor, there's one thing I would like to know before we go." the President said as if in a casual conversation. Pietor glared.

"Why the alliance with G.L.O.V.E.?" he asked, gesturing at Nero and Raven. "Out on anyone? G.L.O.V.E. has been our longest standing enemy for the last decade. Especially yours. At least that's what I thought and was led to believe."

Nero looked at him, eyes narrowed. Anastasia looked the same, except her eyes had a strange coldness to them.

"What do you mean by that?" Pietor snapped "You were led to believe what?"

The President slowly looked from Alex, back to him. He smirked slightly, eyes dark.

"You don't really know what happened to your sister do you, Pietor?"

Pietor raised his chin slightly. Anastasia's eyes widened a bit while Nero's squinted further.

"You never really found out how she died or who killed her, did you?" the President asked.

"What do you mean?" Pietor growled through clenched teeth.

The man smiled "Then I was correct." he looked between them and Nero "You were divided because of that." he shook his head "Strange that you came back together."

Nero's eyes flicked to them, then the President, eyes sharp and serious.

"How she conveniently disappeared when she was supposed to be on her way home to you?" the man continued slowly. He smiled at their expressions "Glad to see I have your attention."

"What in hell are you trying to say?" Pietor hissed.

"We couldn't have relationships with G.L.O.V.E. at that point and Elena" he paused, looking at Nero "was violating that. We couldn't get the Convit started without a strong team behind it and a weakened G.L.O.V.E. force. We knew that Nero was joining G.L.O.V.E. and we needed you Pietor. We knew that you had to be pulled away from G.L.O.V.E., all relationships, all contacts, everything."

Pietor stared at him.

"So we killed her." the President said, looking him in the eye "We killed your sister. Precisely when she heading home from visiting her loved one." he looked at Nero again, who's eyes were starting to burn with anger. Anastasia stared at the man, all her concealed grief, her long buried insanity, coming out in one expression.

"But don't worry." the President said, with a thin smile "We made it quick."

Pietor looked at him, eyes wild "You son of a bitch!" he screamed, lunging forward. Alex backed up, eyes huge, as Pietor slammed the President to the wall. The President's eyes were wide as his throat was compressed hard to deny him breath. He withdrew the knife he'd been carrying and jammed it into Pietor's side.

The assassin grunted and snarled in pain, hands going to the blade sticking from his side. The President shoved him back and whirled around to run out of the door. Alex bolted after.

Pietro pulled the knife out and threw it down as Anastasia ran forward to help. He pushed her away and shot out the door.

"Pietor!" Anastasia yelled, taking off after him. Nero, Raven, and Wing followed, then Darkdoom and the Colonel. They shoved their way out the doors to the Convit building.

Pietor was running almost inhumanely possible towards the ship that was taking off.

Anastasia swore under her breath, an unusual thing to hear from her. Nero stared after the assassin, fury in his eyes. It was rare to see such anger on his face like that, which led all of them around him to leave space.

The ship started to lift into the air and Pietor leaped after it, screaming in pure rage. He landed on the boarding ramp and the President on the ship turned in shock. Pietor leaped at him with every intention of killing.

The President, already hanging onto the latch to keep his balance, kicked out, sending Pietor flying back into the air. He watched as the assassin hit the ground and nodded slightly at the pilot to continue. It had only been a few yards. Pietor would be fine.

Anastasia and the others started running again towards him.

Pietor got to his feet, shouting after the ship. His side bled from the knife wound he had already sustained. His fists were clenched as he yelled as loud as he could into the air in frustration and fury.

Anastasia ran up to him and grabbed his arm. It was slick with sweat and blood from his fall. He glared as the ship disappeared into the clouds.

"Pietor. It won't bring her back." Anastasia said softly. He looked at her and saw that she was just as furious.


	41. забывать (Forget)

**Please Review! Hey! By the way! Yal know that Nero had the Contessa **_**make **_**Nigel's mother let Nigel come to H.I.V.E.? That is now on the list of the reasons I like Pietor Furan more! Grrr…and I'm guessing Nigel didn't really want to be there at all. Grrr….**

**ANYWAY. The title means forget. :)**

**I got a guest review that really sums up Anastasia for this story and I loved it.**

**Guestme: Ok I love how you can really see what Anastasia has been hiding this whole time and trying so hard to keep her grief hidden and be a normal person. Like it shows how she really was broken and trying to heal. She wasn't too girly in the other chapters like others said. She was healing.**

**I hope you like this chapter and sorry it's kind of broken into quick parts but that is how I wanted it to come across.**

**THANK YOU GUESTME!**

There was no talking on the way home. Even Raven and Nero hardly looked at each other, as Nero seemed to be rather distracted. In fact, they all were. Darkdoom seemed in a particular rush to return home. He was much more impatient while driving and sped quite a bit on the roads, as Anastasia had insisted Pietor didn't drive due to his injury. They were all silent. Anastasia stared out her window the whole way home, no reading, no moving, nothing.

Raven was very uneasy about the way Nero seemed to have closed off. He wasn't in one of those urgent silent moments, he was just completely in a pensive. Pietor hadn't spoken since his attack at the President, not even to Anastasia, but then again, she didn't seem to want to talk to him either.

When they pulled into the gates of the Glasshouse and parked, everyone got out and shuffled into the house like they were going to be murdered any second. The door closed behind them and there were some loud running feet.

Iliana came around the corner of the upstairs and trotted down intently. Shelby and Laura followed quickly, both looking amused from something that had clearly been worth laughing at upstairs.

Iliana counted in her head and was very relieved instantly, but no one else looked anymore excited. After a moment to put all their stuff down, Anastasia went immediately to the other hangar, walking with a clear purpose.

###

Iliana slowly shook her head, looking at the ground wearily. Darkdoom sat back slightly. He'd just finished telling her the events of the past couple hours since both of the Furans were preoccupied. Raven sat near them with Nero, who still looked a little on edge but he'd improved from his earlier state. He was still hardly speaking.

The Furans had him worried. Anastasia was clearly shocked and her demeanor had changed excessively.

He was angry. Angry that he hadn't seen this coming. That he couldn't have prevented Elena's death.

Another part of him felt guilty and full of grief. All these years of the fights, the hatred, the wars between him and the Furans had been for nothing. Absolutely nothing.

"Do you know where the President was heading?" Iliana asked "Do you have any lead on him?"

"No. Not unless he leaves his tracker on, which we highly doubt he will." Darkdoom responded.

"What about the message you got?" Iliana said, looking at Raven "Anything else?"

Raven shook her head "Nothing."

Iliana let out a deep breath. The door to the other hangar swung open with a quiet thud and Anastasia came in.

"How's Pietor?" Iliana asked as she walked past. Anastasia gave a tiny nod, almost not in her direction at all, which could have meant virtually anything.

Pietor followed after a few seconds, face hard and serious. He didn't seem to be suffering any pain from his injury, but then again, he never acted in pain. It was quiet as the two of them walked up the stairs in sync and turned left to Anastasia's room.

Iliana watched, looking agitated.

"They're closing up again." she said quietly. All three of them glanced at her.

"What?" Nero asked. Iliana sighed.

"Anastasia. I'm guessing you knew her before she lost her sister?" she asked.

"I've known her most my life." Nero said "Go on."

"Well I've known her for ten years. I knew her for two before she attempted…suicide. I only really knew rumors before that, but…" Iliana winced lightly "I haven't seen her like this since those two years. And the rumors before that."

Raven stared at her for several seconds and Nero slowly nodded.

"I kind of noticed it right when you came home." Iliana said "She was a bit more cold and unfriendly. That's why I wanted to know what had happened." she closed her eyes "And this makes perfect sense."

"She stops feeling." Raven said, still looking at Iliana.

"Exactly. And Pietor does whatever she wants because he's goes all out of whack when she's like this. I've seen it. He kind of indulges on her happiness. He_ wants_ whatever he _thinks _is going to make her better." Iliana paused, looking irritated in a way "Although after her attempt he snapped out of that and saw what was really good for her. He said he wasn't going to go back to it _ever_."

"Does Pietor talk about that?" Nero asked.

Iliana nodded "To me." she sighed "But it looks as if that might change for the time being."

"Pietor seems to be alright…" Darkdoom said.

"He's in a trance." Iliana replied "You know how he described it? He said it was like he was under spell almost."

"Under Anastasia's spell?" Nero asked, tilting his head.

Iliana nodded "Then again, Anastasia had her own troubles." she turned to face all three of them fully "Look. I know I might sound weird, but we have to help them. You have to…I don't know. Act normal. Talk about what we're doing as if it's positive. I don't know…"

"David would have been best for that." Raven said quietly.

Iliana went silent for a moment.

"You're right." she replied after several seconds "But we can do our best."

Nero nodded, more to himself than anyone else.

"You've seen Anastasia when she's not like this and they're happy." Iliana said.

"Well if Pietor said he didn't like being like this then why is he letting it happen again?" Raven asked, sounding very bitter. Nero put a hand on her knee as Iliana looked at her in curiosity at her tone.

"Did you know Elena?" she asked.

"I did." Nero said "And Diabolus. Natalya did not."

Raven was looking rather uncomfortable. Of course she'd never had a chance to meet her. The whole reason the Furans had kidnapped her was because of Elena's death!

"I guess that makes sense." Iliana said "They were all very close siblings, but you already know that. Pietor just wants to keep Anastasia safe." she paused for a second "You know what Pietor told me?"

"What?" Nero asked.

"He said that one of the reasons having those kids here was so easy was because of Elena. He said back then he felt like because she didn't have all that great of a childhood, no one else should either."

Raven scowled slightly in confusion. Nero stared at her.

"What exactly did he mean by that?" he asked.

Iliana winced "I shouldn't tell you anything else. Pietor kind of trusted me with these things."

Nero accepted that with reluctance, mostly because he didn't want to question her further at the moment.

###

"Did you send out the requests?" Anastasia asked, sitting on the edge of her bed in her room. She stared at the window, eyes blank.

"Yes." Pietor responded, handing her the piece of paper with names typed on it. It was a list of the men they were to recruit for any future need.

"You should be resting." she said, gesturing at the bandage on his side. The comment was out of place as she had been insisting the two of them speak with their men as soon as possible and now that they returned, she wondered why he wasn't resting.

"I'm fine." Pietor said "Do we have plans for continuing after the President? I will go to prep the men first thing."

"We will wait and see." Anastasia said "I want to know what he's up to first."

"But Anastasia if we delay, we will lose him. I can lead a squadron of men now and-"

"I said we will wait and see!" Anastasia snapped, her temper flaring far too quickly. "You're not nearly strong enough for something like that right now! Go and do something useful with your time if all you're going to do is question my orders!"

Pietor stared for a moment before dipping his head slightly and turning to leave the room.

###

"Anastasia ordered new recruits to be found." the Colonel told Nero in a hushed tone, later that evening "Pietor sent out the note just an hour ago."

Nero looked at him, scowling slightly. It was about seven o'clock that night and him, the Colonel, and Darkdoom, were outside the Furan's building, discussing what the Colonel had overheard from the Furans as they had been with their men.

Iliana had taken the students into Pietor's training room with her as she continued to practice her routine. Raven had gone with them as Iliana had practically dragged her with them.

"What kind of recruits?" Nero demanded. _Certainly not children again…_

"Men." the Colonel said with a nod "But she requested over two hundred. It is none of our business, but we do not need that many men with us for this. We have suffered no casualties."

Nero looked at the ground as he pondered. Surely Anastasia knew this…

"She's uncomfortable and wants to feel safe." Darkdoom protested lightly "If having more-"

"You heard what Iliana said, Diabolus." Nero cut in "This isn't just an issue of feeling protected or not. She wants more men to hunt down the President."

"I know that." Darkdoom said angrily "But Iliana also said to try and be sympathetic." he shot the Colonel a look, who scowled back.

"Alright." Nero growled, struggling not to snap at them "Don't argue. We can't fight among ourselves."

"Where is Raven?" the Colonel asked "She probably shouldn't be left alone with them."

"Why?" Darkdoom challenged "Do you think they're going to try and hurt her? They haven't changed in the last few hours."

"Pietor and her aren't exactly on good terms and if you remember what you just said, Anastasia's not in her right mind." the Colonel growled.

"Enough." Nero repeated "Colonel, although I appreciate your concern, Natalya can look after herself."

"It's not concern, he just wants to bite the Furans in the back with insults." Darkdoom said. The Colonel glared at him.

"Please Diabolus." Nero said exasperatedly "Stop trying to provoke everyone."

"I'm not. But I don't know if you really heard a word Iliana said." Darkdoom growled.

"Enough!" Nero repeated, shooting him a look. His friend finally fell into an almost sulky silence. Nero turned around to head back inside, not sure where he was going.

He walked through the door and let it close behind him. He could hear the music coming from the training room still. He glanced over at a quiet noise and was just in time to see Raven slip through the door to the other hangar.

Nero frowned. He'd thought she was with Iliana and the others. And what was she doing going in there?

He continued to follow her, careful to keep quiet. He wanted to know what she was up too _before _she knew he was there.

###

Raven opened the next door silently and quickly slid next to the wall, where the lights didn't reach. The dozens of men in the room were bustling everywhere. Most were training. Practicing their shooting and having competitions on who could get their guns out first.

She didn't want them to see her, as she was only there to investigate, so she crept along the wall until she came to the boxes of storage. She considered going up the stairs but from her last experience, she guessed there were guards up there.

The men shouted orders every once in a while as Raven peered at them. The hair on the back of her neck rose at the sight. As a kid, this was where Pietor had had them gather to fight in pairs, except back then there had been children filling the room.

She remembered seeing guards as they trained, but had never realized how many the Furans had actually had.

She didn't recognize any of them now. Except one, who looked very much like one of the children who had trained in the Glasshouse like her.

Since Anastasia had come in here when they returned, Raven had felt quite uneasy. She didn't want to tell Nero, worried he might think she was being paranoid, but had to come and see what was happening for herself. The men seemed much more uptight then they had when Nero and the others had first arrived.

Several of them suddenly stood to attention and Raven leaned to see more.

Pietor came down the steps that led to the old dormitories and she was suddenly very glad she hadn't tried to go up there. But what business did Pietor have up there now?

He started issuing orders in Russian at the men and they nodded, leaving to do their jobs.

Raven shrank down further, really not wanting to be seen now. Pietor gestured at the men with shooting practice, saying something she couldn't quite catch. He turned to watch them, arms folded.

A hand touched her shoulder and for one of the very few times in her life, she jumped a bit. She looked back quickly.

"I don't think the Furans would want you spying on them in here." Nero whispered, getting next to her. Raven relaxed and looked back at Pietor for a second.

"I'm not spying." she replied "I just wanted to come and see what Anastasia did."

"Spying." Nero repeated, raising an eyebrow at her. Raven let out a long irritated breath.

"What have you seen?" he asked.

Raven shrugged slightly, eyes on Pietor "The men are certainly on edge."

Nero watched for a second "Anastasia ordered new recruits to be found."

Raven blinked and then looked at him "Are you saying…?"

"No. More soldiers." Nero said. Raven turned her head to look back at the men, looking far more unsettled, shoulders tensing.

"Why?"

Nero sighed "I don't know."

"And Pietor's in here working with the men. What's up with that?" she asked, gesturing at him "He hasn't done that once since we've been here."

Nero shook his head again "Look, we'd better get out of here before we're found. The Furans are paranoid enough without having us added to that list."

"Paranoid?" Raven asked, looking at him. She seemed to take everything he said and turn it into the worst case scenario.

"Come on." Nero said, standing up straight.

###

It was dark out now and snow was falling softly to the ground. The main room was quiet and only the small light from the coals that were still smoldering showed any sign of life. It was around two in the morning and everyone was in their rooms. Iliana had spent the night again, still feeling extremely uncomfortable alone at her house. A grim feeling seemed to be sheltering the whole place.

Pietor stared at the ceiling, completely awake. He hadn't shut his eyes since he first had gone to bed, which was three hours ago. He couldn't seem to be able to relax at all and he didn't feel like getting up. Every few seconds, he would have a mini panic attack wondering where both his sisters were, and he would quickly have to remind himself.

One tiny part of him was always relieved that he didn't have to worry about keeping Elena safe anymore, but then the rest of him was filled with guilt and grief.

He had wondered about asking Anastasia to come down into his room, but had no idea what her reaction would be right now and he didn't need any help.

However, the night was passing by and he wanted to get some sleep. He began to shut his eyes and after a few moments of peace he suddenly thought of Anastasia and Elena. Jerking upright, he looked all around frantically, only to once again find himself in his room.

His clock read 2:12 am and Pietor slowly lay back down. He let out a deep breath through his nose.

There was a soft creak and his door peeked open. Pietor sat right back up and Iliana opened his door full.

"Hey." she said softly.

"Are you alright?" Pietor asked, moving to get up.

"I'm fine." Iliana said and shrugged slightly "Can't sleep."

"Me neither." Pietor said. He just looked at her for a second, then she smiled.

"You dork." she walked over and got on top of the covers next to him.

"What time is it?" she asked, leaning to lie against his chest.

"About two fifteen." Pietor said, resting back against his back board. Iliana winced, stifling a yawn.

"Goodness, we need to get to sleep." she settled in and closed her eyes. Pietor grunted his disapproval slightly, but didn't move. He slowly closed his eyes and found having someone else with him calmed his mind.

**I know it was kind of short, super sorry. And I know it was kind of hoppity from subject to subject, but that is the way I wanted it to be. PLEASE review! :)**


	42. решать (Resolve)

**Please review!**

**8 years ago…at the Convit building. The Convit has been around for 12 years. Pietor has worked for it for 2 so far…**

"Come on, Pietor." David said, nudging his friend. Well somewhat friend. David was friends with everybody, if they let him.

Which _this _particular man would not at the moment.

Pietor grunted.

"Don't let Gabdin put you in a bad mood. He just likes to be in charge." David said, glancing over at the tall, antagonistic Gabdin. He and Pietor had not hit it off well when Pietor first arrived. Neither of them enjoyed each other's company much.

They had just finished a particularly long meeting where Gabdin was constantly whining about how no one seemed to work very hard and that he had to do everything. Iliana, his step-daughter, sat at his right hand as he grilled her about the work her and Pietor were up too.

After several minutes, Gabdin eventually got up and Iliana was free. She shook her head exasperatedly and came over to Pietor and David. David smiled at her approach and she reached to give him a kiss on the cheek.

They'd been engaged for the past two months, which was shown by the big diamond ring on Iliana's left hand.

"Hey." she said once she pulled back "That was a long meeting, no? I say we should go out to celebrate that it's over."

"Nice idea. How about after our work?" David asked, tapping her nose with a finger.

Iliana rolled her eyes "Alright." she poked Pietor "Want to join us?"

"I actually have business matters to attend to at home." Pietor said. David kept the same face, but inside he cringed when Pietor said that. He wanted to get back to training the kids at his place.

"Are you sure? You could take the day off for once, you know." Iliana said, waving a hand at the door encouragingly. She too knew of the Glasshouse, but saying something about it would drive Pietor away.

"I'm afraid I really can't." Pietor replied.

"You could invite your sister." David said "If she'd like to come."

"How about tonight?" Iliana asked.

Pietor looked at her for a second, before starting to turn on one foot without replying. As he left, Iliana let out a frustrated breath of air. David smiled and rubbed her back.

"You know, he _could _try being social." she growled.

"I think he'll come around. You know the Furans background. They still miss Elena." David said "A lot of people do."

"I know. I do too, even though I hardly knew her." Iliana said. "But that was around twenty-one years ago."

"It's kind of hard to get past things like that." David said.

"I guess." Iliana admitted grudgingly "Did you know her well?"

"I did. I was several years younger than her though. But she was super nice." David said.

"What if we went to Pietor's place and picked him up?" Iliana asked "Do you think he would freak out?"

"Yep. And I don't particularly want to go there. I know the Convit has kind of legalized the training there, but I don't want to watch." David said "However, I agree that we should definitely continue to try and be friends with Pietor."

Over by the table of refreshments, Pietor pulled his ringing phone out of his pocket. He answered it.

"Furan here."

"I wish Gabdin wasn't such a jerk to him too." Iliana said "It keeps me from being able to get to be friends with him."

David shrugged helplessly "I agree. I guess we can just try harder." they glanced over at Pietor, who was starting to look more and more concerned every second. His eyes were wide as the person on the end kept talking. He said something back quickly and his face became more disconcerted.

"What the heck…" Iliana said, leaning over to David "What's wrong with him?"

Pietor jammed the phone back into his pocket and whirled around to walk to the door.

"Everything okay?" David asked as he flew past, grabbing his coat off the hanger as he did so. There was no reply.

###

Pietor slammed open the door and threw his coat on the floor. Several of his men stopped their work and came over to him.

"Where is she?" he demanded.

"They moved her to the medical bay." the first man said.

"And?" Pietor barked, still walking swiftly.

"You'd best talk to the doctor." the man replied.

Pietor continued on to the medic and pushed the door open. Several men were surrounding the bed where Anastasia lay. He stared at her for a second.

She had a bandage wrapped around her stomach and all the way up to her upper chest. Her head was turned to one side, eyes closed, and hair splayed out on the pillow. One man was hooking her up to an I.V line and another was taking her blood pressure.

Pietor walked in and over to them. The main doctor glanced at him from where he was getting the I.V. into her arm and finished that before coming over. He beckoned him out of the office as more of the men came to help them.

"She has lost a lot of blood." the doctor said quietly once they were out.

"But _she is okay_." Pietor said, looking at him as if challenging him to say no.

"Pietor, she is lucky the men found her when they did." the doctor said, refusing to be intimidated "I cannot promise anything. You must prepare yourself."

Pietor opened his mouth to speak, but the doctor stopped him.

"We will do what we can. The true extent of the damage can't be seen until we take x-rays and get her red blood cell count."

"Then get it done." Pietor growled, teeth gritting. The doctor nodded and turned away. Pietor came to the door, but stopped himself. His fists slowly clenched and he looked at them for a second.

There was the sound of an opening and shutting door and Pietor backed up to see.

To his surprise, David was the one who walked in. Pietor realized that the security personal on this side must have all left their posts to help Anastasia and there were no guards outside.

David looked around a second with an expression of a child avoiding an abusive parent. He looked rather disconcerted.

"What are you doing here?" Pietor growled, walking over to him.

"I came to see if everything was alright." David said, peeling his eyes away from the huge hangar around him. "You left rather quickly."

"It's fine." Pietor replied coldly "What wouldn't be fine?"

David looked at him a second, eyes steady. He knew there was something the man wasn't telling him.

"Pietor, what's happened?"

The assassin held his gaze, eyes glaring for a moment, but David didn't flinch.

"Anastasia's been hurt. It's nothing." Pietor said, hoping that would be enough to get the nosy man to leave.

"How bad is it?" David asked.

"Not bad." Pietor lied, eyes narrowing "Nothing I can't handle."

David stared at him, before dipping his head. "Well you know what's best for her. Let me know if you need any help."

Pietor nodded slowly.

###

A while after David left, Pietor walked up the stairs and into his sister's room.

It was empty and quiet. Usually at this time, Anastasia was in here, going over reports and he was down training the children. He'd noticed, however that once their trainee Natalya had left, his sister had closed up even more.

The doctor had informed him that Anastasia would survive the night, as they had her hooked up to many various machines, but that was of little comfort to him.

_You know what's best for her._

The words kept returning to him, over and over again. Pietor had _thought _he'd known, but evidently not. His sister still wasn't happy; she still wasn't her old self.

No, that had all changed long ago and probably would never be the same again. Training the children seemed to bring her some relief as if they were heading in the right direction, but they had failed to kill Nero.

"Damn it!" Pietor hissed, picking up one of his sister's glass statues that sat on her desk and throwing it at the wall. It shattered and left a dent in the wall as it fell to the floor with even more noise.

He was trying so hard to make her happy. Why _wasn't _she happy?

_Because revenge solves nothing._

The words that David had once spoken hit with a force all of the sudden. Pietor fell back and hit the wall, staring at the room in front of him.

What was he doing?

_What _was he _doing_?

His sister was in the hospital. G.L.O.V.E. was thriving. Nero seemed to be ignoring them. All the children they had gathered over the years were destroyed and would probably never amount to anything…

And none of this was going to bring Elena back. That was all Anastasia really wanted. She wanted her sister back.

And none of this was ever going to solve that for her.

Pietor clicked his ear piece "Unit one. Contact the Convit. I want all the trainees released and transported there. Immediately."

Without waiting for a response, he turned to walk out of the room. He had work to do.

###

**Present day…**

Pietor shuffled the next morning as he was waking up. He realized that Iliana might still be next to him, but as he opened his eyes, she wasn't. She must have left earlier.

Pietor sat up and went to stand up. He could smell that someone was cooking breakfast, which was the benefit of having a room downstairs.

However, this morning the smell was making his stomach churn. He wanted to avoid the kitchen altogether and whoever was cooking in it because he assumed it wasn't his sister.

After getting dressed, Pietor came out of his bedroom and headed right for the other hangar's door. He could hear Iliana and mostly likely Shelby or Laura talking from the kitchen and he wanted to skip that confrontation. He opened the door to where his men were already up and prepping. Surprisingly, Anastasia was in there, watching them. He pulled out his phone from his pocket and realized it was ten in the morning.

Anastasia was speaking with the commander and pointing at something while giving directions. Pietor walked over to stand next to her. She glanced over and the commander turned to leave.

"Have you been to the doctor yet this morning?" she asked bluntly.

"No. I told you yesterday, I'm fine." Pietor replied.

"You don't know that. How are you ever going to lead the next approach on the President if you can't even heal properly?" Anastasia asked.

"I told you. I'm _fine_." Pietor growled. She shot him a look through narrowed eyes, but didn't say anything else.

The commander exchanged a few quick words with another one of their men before turning back to the Furans.

"We've received note that thirty-two of the new recruits have accepted. They will report here as soon as they can." he said.

"Good." Anastasia said. Pietor looked at her expectantly for the next order, something that the commander found odd after all these years. He simply nodded and left them again.

"Pietor." she said, turning back to him "I don't know how much longer we're going to need Nero and the others to stay here. When we have the rest of the new recruits here, we will have plenty of men to guard the base as well as enough to face the President."

"Do you want them to leave?" Pietor asked.

"I don't think Nero will agree to that right now." Anastasia said "He will want to stay here and ensure that the Convit is destroyed."

"What would you like me to do?" Pietor asked.

Anastasia's eyes flicked down for a moment as she thought, then back up "For now, I want you to send men out to start looking for signs of the President. We will deal with Nero later."

Pietor nodded swiftly and turned, glad to be doing something for her.

###

"Have you seen Pietor or Anastasia this morning?" Iliana asked as Nero walked into the kitchen. He shook his head.

"No. Have you?"

"No. I came in here because this is where people usually gather in the morning." Iliana said, twirling her spatula "But they haven't come in here."

Nero shook his head again as she turned to go back to cooking.

"However, would you like something to eat?" she asked.

Laura and Shelby were both at the kitchen counter. Shelby was leaning on her elbows, watching the pancakes and bacon on the griddle. She waved at Nero with two fingers and he raised an eyebrow.

Darkdoom pushed open the kitchen door and also entered. He looked around for a second.

"Wow this place is empty."

"I know right?" Iliana said, scooping off the pancakes and setting them on a plate. "You didn't happen to see where Pietor and Anastasia got off too did you?"

He shook his head "Nope."

Iliana sighed silently and went to pour more batter onto the pan.

"Have they just disappeared?" Darkdoom asked.

"Well I'm assuming they're with their men right now." Iliana said, the lowered her voice slightly "Which isn't a good thing right now."

"Have you spoken to Pietor?" Nero asked softly.

"Not in so many words." Iliana replied, with a shrug "I'll try again. _If _they ever come out of that freakin' place."

Nero nodded.

"Come to think of it, I haven't seen Natalya this morning either." Darkdoom said, looking at both of them.

"Oh she and Wing went to train." Shelby said, spinning around to face them in her chair.

"Anyhow. You two come and eat." Iliana said, beckoning both the men with her spatula.

###

**Several hours later…**

Anastasia walked into her roomand tossed her stack of papers onto the bed. She quite honestly did not want to look over them right now. She felt exhausted and she didn't know why; she hadn't been doing anything remotely active.

However, she was concentrating very hard on finding the correct words to tell Nero and the others to leave. She knew Nero would make a fuss as usual and having Darkdoom there, the man who could persuade a cat to give up a mouse, would make it much harder. He wouldn't complain, he would just make several points to support Nero.

Anastasia closed the drawer to her desk slowly, fingers tapping on the wood. She just wanted them gone. She didn't know why. In fact, part of her was screaming at her to stop this, but she shoved it away each time it got loudest. What did it matter? In a few short days, everything would be solved.

Anastasia glanced at the picture on her side table. Her and her two siblings were in the picture together, Elena in the middle as usual.

She felt a stab of anger, which she usually didn't feel when she looked at her sister.

There was a soft knock at her door and Anastasia turned around. Nero was in the door way and walked in slowly as she looked at him.

"Yes?" she asked.

"I needed to talk to you about our follow up on the President." Nero said, ignoring her rather petulant tone.

"Why?" Anastasia growled.

"So we can find him again and end all this." Nero said.

Anastasia turned away slightly "What makes you think we're going to follow up."

Nero was quiet for a moment.

"I know you Anastasia. I also know that you requested more men to be recruited." he said as she shot him a look "May I ask why?"

"It's none of your business." Anastasia replied "We are perfectly capable of handling our own affairs now."

Nero raised his eyebrows but didn't reply for several moments.

"Is that your way of telling me you don't need us here anymore?"

He spotted Anastasia flinch for some reason and decided to back down slightly.

"This is Pietor and I's business." she said.

"I agree." Nero said "But it is mine as well."

Anastasia froze at the remark.

Then she sighed.

"Yes. Yes, I suppose it is. Now that I know you were not the cause of her death I cannot deny that you loved Elena." she looked at him "But I cannot allow that to get in the way. Pietor and I have to take care of this on our own."

"No you don't." Nero said.

"Yes we do, Max!" she hissed "That's the only way it's going to work. That's the only way it can be!"

Nero stared at her "No. It's not. Anastasia we came here for you. We came here to support you. You have someone behind you." he glanced at the door "And Iliana. And Pietor." he shook his head slowly "You are anything but alone."

Anastasia looked at him, eyes creased and full of…sorrow? Guilt? Unhappiness? He couldn't tell.

The words slowly seemed to reach her and she stared at the ground for several moments.

Again, there was silence in the room. Neither Nero nor Anastasia looked at each other. Then he spoke.

"Anastasia while we've been here this past month, I've seen a whole other side of you and Pietor. One that I hadn't seen before." he said slowly "After seeing you this way and how close the pair of you are, I came to the conclusion on my own that you would never be capable of killing your own sibling." he paused "I'm sorry for accusing you and everything after."

Anastasia still did not move. Then, she half glanced at him and he thought he caught a glimpse of tears.

"You're sorry? _You're _sorry?" she shook her head and looked away "After everything I've done, you say you're sorry." she tilted her head to the ceiling and muttered something as streaks of wetness slowly formed on her cheeks.

Nero watched her, not sure whether to comfort or let her be.

"Anastasia…"

"No." she said, taking in a deep breath and shaking her head again "You shouldn't have to apologize. It was me. It was all me…"

"I…am to blame as well." Nero said "I shouldn't have distanced her from you so much."

Anastasia met his gaze and the two of them looked each other in the eye without anger for the first time in many years. She gave a sad smile, then looked back at the ground, eyes squeezing shut.

"All…the people…I…I…_hurt_." she said, still crying softly "And…Natalya…" her knees seemed to buckle and she went down to them, one hand holding onto the edge of the desk.

Nero went forward and slowly crouched down beside her. Her shoulders were heaving with each silent sob and Nero could only think how much he wished it were Pietor here instead of him. He would know exactly how to help her.

"Anastasia…it's _okay_." he said softly, only realizing right then that he really meant it. He felt an honest twinge of guilt, almost feeling as if he was betraying Raven. But Anastasia was doing her best to apologize and he wasn't going to ignore it.

She looked up at him, eyes red and her face blotchy.

"You always have a choice." Nero said softly "You are not alone."

###

Nero walked down the stairs later that evening. After his talk with Anastasia, she had gone back to the other hangar, which was either really good or everything he had said had been useless. He didn't know how to feel about it quite yet.

Darkdoom and the Colonel were now having their own hushed conversation down there and there didn't seem to be any arguments involved so far. Raven and Iliana were sitting on the couch, near all three of the students. They were all talking but Raven less so.

Nero glanced at her for a second before going over to Darkdoom. He nodded at his friend as he approached.

"News?"

Darkdoom nodded and the Colonel spoke.

"Anastasia went and took back her requests this morning." he said with a slight shrug "She didn't say anything else."

"Do you know where Pietor and her are?" Nero asked.

"I believe Anastasia went to find him after she issued her orders." the Colonel said. Nero nodded, rather relieved to hear that.

"What orders?" Raven asked and they all glanced over, not realizing she was approaching.

"Anastasia's. For the new recruits." Nero said "She took them back."

Raven raised her eyebrows "That's odd."

Nero didn't reply to that as the Colonel and Darkdoom continued talking, which she found weird. Usually he agreed with her about that.

"What's wrong?" Raven asked quietly, as Nero kept his silence. He glanced at her a moment before turning and beckoning her with him. She followed, confused. He walked over to the stairs and stopped at the bottom.

"What?" Raven asked, as she joined him.

Nero took in a deep breath "I spoke with Anastasia earlier." he began.

Raven looked at him a second, confused on why he wasn't continuing "And?"

"And it was a rather informative talk for me." Nero said "Anastasia said few things that I never thought I'd hear from her."

"Like what?" Raven asked "She's gone back to her old Glasshouse self apparently now. Did she threaten you?"

"Natalya, she feels bad." Nero said, looking at her "And she gave a distressed apology to me."

Raven scowled "Apology? Anastasia? No, she probably just wan-"

"It was sincere." Nero said firmly "And she said your name as well in it."

Raven blinked and her eyes narrowed "What are you saying?"

"Natalya-"

"Are you saying you want me to forgive her?" Raven asked, shaking her head "No. That's not even a possibility."

"Natalya, she feels bad, she really does. And I'm not going to ask-"

"What do you want me to do? You want me to just forget everything? How she nearly destroyed me as a person? And my two friends?" Raven asked, her voice hardening "No, Max. I'm not going to forget that. Ever."

"Natalya, I didn't mean that. I'm just saying-"

"What now all the sudden because you worked things out she's suddenly become your best friend?" Raven asked, eyes starting to look more and more hurt by the second.

"Am I saying that?" Nero asked fiercely and Raven closed her mouth, still looking indignant.

"I'm not asking you to do anything." he went on "I just wanted you to know what she said."

Raven looked away slightly, letting out a deep breath.

"I'm sorry. I just…I can't even begin to…" she clenched her jaw slightly "It's hard for me to imagine her saying that."

"And that's completely understandable." Nero said "But she did."

"Then why not to me?" Raven asked, looking back at him "Why to you?"

"I think it was just because I sought her out." Nero said gently.

"Or not." Raven said quietly "I don't know if this was ever about me at all actually. I was just a variable in the equation."

"Don't say that." Nero said firmly "If Anastasia is willing to apologize, then that obviously isn't true."

Raven sighed "Look, I'm sorry, but I don't think I will be able to accept that right now." she let out a breath and closed her eyes "Much like Pietor won't accept my apology."

"Have you tried talking to him?" Nero asked. She shook her head.

"If I try to apologize it just makes him angrier."

"Well that's his problem." Nero said and Raven shook her head again helplessly.

"Natalya really. If you're going to take the time to say sorry to him for something that's not half your fault and he decides not to forgive you, then that is completely his problem." Nero said.

Raven shrugged, still not entirely convinced.

###

**Later that night…9:30 or so…**

Pietor sat outside, staring into a big fire he was started about an hour ago. Iliana had sat with him for a while, but had returned home to tend to her cats. The others had been outside, except for Raven, and had returned to the warmth inside only a couple minutes ago. Now it was silent and Pietor was alone in his camp chair next to the fire.

He felt terrible. After all those years of training and trying to do the best for his sister had amounted to nothing and here he had been, once again following her every order as if that would help anything. When Anastasia had come to speak with him earlier that day, it was almost as if he had been transported back to the day she'd attempted suicide. All the realization hit him again.

_Why _did he try and do that? _Why _did he assume doing exactly what she wanted would help her? He felt so stupid. He wondered what Elena thought of all this. All that they'd been doing their lives.

Well now that he knew Nero hadn't killed her, he knew she would be upset that they'd blamed him. But he'd blamed them too.

Pietor shifted in his chair, blowing out a visible breath of air.

There was sudden noise behind him and Shelby and Laura came outside, gabbing rather loudly. Raven was with them, and as they walked together, she glanced at Pietor. When the girls continued walking for a moment, she went to sit in Iliana's empty chair next to him. She watched the spark-flying fire as he continued to stare without looking at her.

Shelby and Laura walked into the darkness and Drake, coming from his kennel in the back went to follow them.

Raven had to keep her leg from bobbing up and down in something that felt close to nervousness. Pietor didn't say anything still.

After a few minutes, Shelby and Laura threw something for Drake and he took off running. Another shape moved in the darkness and Keesha followed him. The students followed them.

Raven watched them for a second. Then she decided to risk her question.

"Did David have any siblings?" she asked, her voice only slightly softer than usual.

Pietor glanced at her, more of a reaction to hearing his friends name than anything else.

"No." he said, looking back away.

Raven went silent, inwardly sighing. Disappointing news and a disappointing reaction. She was debating on whether or not to leave and let him be since the last time she has tried to speak had ended up a disaster.

But Pietor was slowly starting to shake his head, eyes closed and she stayed for a few seconds, expectantly.

"It's so stupid." he muttered.

Raven stared at him, the light of the fire flickering on her face. She had no idea what he was referring too.

"Everything that happened after she died." Pietor continued muttering "All the fights, all the hate, all the training. All of it."

Raven felt a tug of alarm as he said that, but there was no spite to his tone.

"And people paid the price for it." Pietor said, looking at her "_You _paid the price for it."

Raven simply continued to gaze back, no idea what to say.

He looked back at the fire and after several moments of silence, he closed his eye for a second, and then opened them.

"I'm sorry Natalya." his eyes reflected the fire "For everything."

With that, he slowly stood up and turned to walk to the door.

As it closed, Raven sat, mesmerized. She stared at his chair and blinked.

###

**A\N:**

**So Nero and Elena fell in love, then the Convit killed her. They started training kids for the government and found Natalya about two years after just doing that. They trained her for about five yearsish and sent her to kill Nero. It didn't work. Continued training kids for about four years then the Convit started. Pietor joined after two years of the Convit being there, trained kids for the Convit. After those two years, Anastasia attempted suicide. Then Pietor let all the kids go and they have lived happily ever after for those eight years. Phew, cleared up much? I helped me out, trust me.**

**Sorry if it is "out of time" for you guys. Since we don't know anyone's actual age in the H.I.V.E. books it is hard to write that. :) Headcanon!**

**Please review!**


	43. PphAssassins

**Please review! You guys are so amazing! Thank you! :) **

Laura yawned the next morning as she followed the others along the trail. It was about 8:30 and the whole group was walking on a concrete path on a particularly beautiful morning. They really hadn't spoken about going a walk, they had just done it and no one argued. So they had driven to a paved path that stretched about two miles round about.

However, Laura was extremely sick of being woken up by Shelby in the morning. _Every _morning. But as Raven had said "The exercise will do you good!"

Pietor was going to run once they got to a certain spot, however the rest were perfectly content with walking. He was rather tired of being confined in the house after the stab wound he had received.

Iliana had gone home the night before as she felt she was neglecting her cats.

The tension that had been between the group since David's death finally seemed to have melted away. Particularly between Pietor and Raven, which everyone felt.

They walked along the path in the beautiful sunshine, engaged in light conversation. Anastasia, Nero and Darkdoom seemed particularly chatty, while the others, Raven, Pietor, and the Colonel walked in a content silence.

"This must be the longest any student has been away from H.I.V.E." Shelby said to Laura and Wing.

"Probably. Well the longest anyone's been away having _fun_." Laura agreed.

"So the off-island school tests aren't considered _fun_?" Nero asked, overhearing. He raised an eyebrow with a slight smile, as she looked back.

"Sure. If you like the high chance of death." Shelby replied, waving a hand "Which fortunately I do."

Nero rolled his eyes at her.

They continued along the path for several minutes until they stopped beside a bench near a playground. There were two families there with a few little children and two teens.

"Well. I'm going running." Pietor said, pulling off his jacket he had on and tossing it on the bench. Raven looked down and realized how weird it was that he was wearing tennis shoes.

"Alright. How many times around?" Anastasia said.

"My goal is twice running." Pietor said.

"And my goal is once around walking."

"Lazy butt." Pietor replied turning.

"Well thank you." Anastasia muttered as he went to take off down the path.

"Does he just run along this path?" Darkdoom asked, waving a finger at the trail in front of them "Isn't it like two miles?"

"Probably more. He'll probably go around like twice and meet up with us then. Honestly I think walking is the best form of exercise." Anastasia said.

"I know right? Pph. Assassins." Shelby muttered and they all glanced at her.

"Excuse me?" Raven asked.

"That was meant to be nice." Shelby said hastily.

"The pph part didn't sound all that nice." Laura said and her friend looked at her with mock betrayal in her eyes.

"Man, we're supposed to be a team."

"Against them?" Laura asked, pointing at the adults "No thanks. I'll be the surviving traitor."

"And I'll be the dead loyal one." Shelby said.

"And Mr. Fanchu is the surviving neutral one?" Raven asked and Wing nodded.

Darkdoom scoffed at them all and continued to walk, passing them. The Colonel followed him. Raven raised an eyebrow at the students and scooted past them with Nero and Anastasia. Shelby scrubbed her chin and after a second, seemed to remember something. She jogged up to them.

"Hey. Hey. So Ms. Leon gave us this assignment. I just remembered it because we were talking about school. Okay, so she told us we had to get a report from someone who had brilliant expertise in stealth and evasion, right? So she said that she was only accepting thirty kids to go to her and anyone else had to find their own person."

As the student stopped talking, Nero glanced at her.

"And?"

"I don't have someone yet." Shelby said pointedly. There were a few seconds of silence.

"Ow." Raven said, scowling at her.

"Yeah, I would think the first person to come to you would be Raven." Nero said.

"Ms. Leon said that Laura and I couldn't go to Raven." Shelby went on "So I wasn't like dissing you. She was all like 'because you know her so well and the other kids don't, if wouldn't be fair'. I guess she wants us to like make up a character?"

"There are other people around H.I.V.E. if you can track them down." Nero said.

"I haven't had anyone come to me what so ever." Raven said.

"Yeah. Ms. Leon said only the ones who really wanted a good grade would be brave enough to try and find you." Laura said. Raven let out an amused breath through her nose.

"So Shelby what's your point?" Nero asked.

"Well…I was thinking while we're here I could get a report from Pietor!" Shelby said, smiling proudly "Do you think Ms. Leon would be good with that?"

"If you could get Pietor to answer anything." Anastasia said "He's kind of a closed up badger about that stuff."

"I can wheedle him." Shelby said "He just loves me."

"I'm so glad you think that Shelby." Anastasia said, smiling without looking at her.

"What kind of questions are there?" Raven asked "I need to know this before Tabitha loans me out to kids."

"Like what stream do they think they'd be in right now and how long they've worked like this and that kind of stuff." Shelby said.

"Oh sweet." Raven said, with only a hint of sarcasm.

As they continued talking for several minutes, Pietor came running up behind and as he went past, he smacked Anastasia.

"Oh!" Anastasia said leaning back slightly as he ran right past again.

"Neudachnik!" she called after him and he turned around, still jogging backwards and put out his arms in a mock hurt gesture.

"What you say?" Shelby asked.

"Loser." Anastasia replied, then lowered her voice "He's a little biotch anyway."

They all looked at her and she smiled.

"There's just so much love between you two isn't there?" Darkdoom asked.

"That's _how_ we show love." Anastasia replied "For the most part."

They continued walking for a little while more until they got back around to the bench where Pietor had first started running. He met them after a few minutes, walking because he was talking on his phone.

"Where did you want to go then?" they heard him say as he came up.

"Who are you talking to?" Anastasia mouthed at him.

Pietor mouthed something back but it was completely impossible to read. Anastasia scowled at him.

"Alright, then we will go there." he hung up and slipped the phone in his pocket "Iliana wants us to go to breakfast with her."

"Is that what you mouthed?" Anastasia asked, walking past him and smacking him as well. Pietor jerked forward and shot her a scowl, although she was already gone.

"I didn't know you could be disarmed that easily." Raven said, walking. Her eyes were mischievous and Pietor looked after her for a second, scowling.

###

The group walked into the restaurant where several waiters were bustling about the open kitchen. Someone immediately came over to them and spoke very quickly in Russian.

"Vy bronirovali? My ochen' zanyaty segodnya vecherom, i ya ne dumayu, chto my mozhem vzyat' khod'by moduli."

"What?" Shelby asked.

"Da my zdes's drugoy zhenshchinoy." Pietor replied.

The waitress nodded and gestured for them to follow her.

Iliana waved a hand as she spotted them walk past. Pietor said something to the waitress before they turned to go join her.

"Hi." Iliana said with a smile as they began to take their seats.

"Did you find your cats all safe and sound?" Pietor asked, taking the chair next to her.

"They were perfect." Iliana replied. She nodded at the waitress that had brought them in "Was that the first time you've spoken Russian in like six months?"

"Actually probably yes." Pietor said "One job after another."

"Alright help. These menus are all in Russian." Shelby said, holding one about two inches from her face, eyes squinted. Raven took it from her, but Shelby snatched it right back.

"No not you. You'll probably try to get me drunk again." she leaned over to Anastasia, who smiled as Raven put out her arms indignantly.

"_One _thing. I did _one _thing and now you don't trust me?" she asked.

"Not with food." Shelby replied.

"Raven would probably poison your food, Shelby so it's alright." Darkdoom said.

Raven lightly tossed her napkin on the table "What is this, pick on Raven day?"

"I started a national holiday." Shelby replied "It's in the news."

"You're going to be in the news pretty soon." Raven said "'Shelby Trinity, murdered for mocking.'"

"You wouldn't kill me in public." Shelby said.

"Would you care to bet on that?" Raven asked.

"_Anyway _Shelby, here's what they have." Anastasia said, getting the students attention again. She leaned over to look.

"When have I been known to poison people?" Raven asked, looking at Darkdoom.

"He's just giving you a hard time, Natalya." Nero said peaceably.

"Sort of." Darkdoom said with a smile.

"You did try to give Shelby alcohol." Nero reminded her.

"Wow." Raven said, looking at him "Even you?"

Nero just smiled.

"Oh no." Iliana said suddenly, looking at something behind them "Fetch look who's here."

"Who?" Pietor asked looking up.

It was Carter, the same man that she had avoided at the Convit lunch they had had. He was at the cashier, leaning against the front desk, apparently waiting for someone.

"I am so glad he wasn't here before you guys came." Iliana said, ducking behind Pietor slightly "Protect me."

"What do you want me to do?" Pietor bared his teeth in the direction of Carter sarcastically and the others chuckled.

"Sure that's great. Whatever will keep him away." Iliana said and Pietor rolled his eyes.

"Are you ordering something or not?"

"I already know what I want." she replied, irritably.

The waiter came over and Anastasia helped Shelby, since the student was closest to her. Then she ordered for herself and one by one all the others went.

"So I got…how do you pronounce it?" Shelby asked.

"Steyk i kartofel'." Anastasia said.

"Steyk i kartofel'." Shelby repeated, without the nice sounding accent "So how did you ever learn-"

"Iliana!" a voice called from behind Pietor, Anastasia and Shelby's side of the table. Iliana smiled rather weakly at the others before turning. Carter was walking up to them, a big smile on his face.

"Hi Carter." Iliana said, faking a smile.

"Fancy seeing you here. What are you doing?" he asked as Pietor turned around.

"Ah." Carter said, eyes widening slightly. He gave a nervous smile "I gotta go. See you around, Iliana." he turned tightly and walked back to the front desk.

Iliana let out a huge breath, mouth wide in relief. Once Carter was out of sight, everyone started laughing.

"I didn't even say anything." Pietor said exasperatedly, throwing his arms up.

"All you had to do was turn I guess." Iliana said, putting a knuckle to her mouth as she laughed.

"Did you see his face?" Darkdoom imitated Carter's face of alarm "Ah. I gotta go."

"What did I do? Did I do anything? No." Pietor said.

###

Later, when they were home, everyone was in the living room except Anastasia, who had left somewhere as soon as they got home and had been gone a little while, Iliana, who had gone back to her house, and Pietor, who was in his room being antisocial. None of them seemed particularly motivated to do anything. Except Nero, who always magically seemed to have a stack of papers with him that he appeared to be signing.

Shelby was doing something with Laura's hair, making nine little braids and braiding them together to get three bigger braids and then braiding them one more time. She brushed it out with her fingers, looking bored.

"Hey, Raven can I braid your hair? That would look so pretty." Shelby said.

"Nope." Raven said.

"Iliana would let me braid her hair." Shelby complained half-heartedly.

"Why don't you get your questioner paper for Ms. Leon done?" Nero asked, setting another paper to the side.

"Because I'm kind of scared to ask Pietor and he's not even out here right now." Shelby said, running her hands across each other several times.

"Scared to ask him?" Nero asked, glancing up with one raised eyebrow at her.

"You've been harassing him this whole week." Darkdoom said "I thought you said he loved you?"

"Well he does, but I'll probably just wait until Anastasia gets back." Shelby replied.

"Why?" Nero asked.

"I don't know. I can kind of annoy him without getting in trouble."

"If you annoy him Shelby, you'll be in trouble with _me_." Nero said "Don't even worry about Anastasia."

"That's why I'm afraid." Shelby said, gesturing at him.

"I'm sure Pietor will answer some questions for you without getting irritated." Nero said.

"Is it because Pietor usually doesn't get mad when Anastasia's around?" Darkdoom asked.

"Exactly." Shelby agreed "Just like Raven. Except it's with Dr. Nero."

Raven scowled as Nero looked up, frowning slightly.

"I don't get mad when he isn't around." Raven said "When do I get mad?"

"It's just that I can get on your nerves without getting maimed because you wouldn't do that when Dr. Nero's near." Shelby said.

"Once again, would you like to bet on that?" Raven asked, leaning forward.

"I don't have any money." Shelby said smartly, bobbing her eyebrows.

"I don't need any money." Raven said "Just satisfaction."

"That's not creepy at all." Shelby replied.

"How about you just go in there and ask him, Shelby." Nero suggested, wanting to break up the argument without making Shelby's comment seem true, for the sake of Raven's pride.

"Mmmm…can't you?" Shelby asked.

"It's not my assignment." Nero replied.

Just then, there was the sound of the garage door opening and Shelby clapped.

"Good! Anastasia's here!"

They waited in a silence as the doors of the cars slammed and you heard footsteps. Anastasia opened the door and tossed her wallet down on the floor, then her coat. Drake and Keesha both followed her in and she pushed it shut.

Apparently hearing it as well, Pietor came out of his room.

"Hey." he said, waving a hand in a greeting.

"Wow. This is new." Anastasia said, as he walked past "You're not going to ask where I've been? What I've been doing? What color bra I'm wearing?"

Pietor let out a half-sigh, half-growl as he sat down and he tilted his head back until he could see her "It's white. I can't see it through your shirt."

Anastasia looked down at herself "Nope, you can't." she looked back up dubiously "Can you usually?"

Pietor didn't say anything, but let out a big breath through his nose. Anastasia raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms across the chest before turning to walk up the stairs. She glanced back.

"By the way, Iliana was right behind me on my way home. I'm pretty sure she'll be coming over."

###

"So I can't decide if I want them to be inside cats or outside cats, because my oldest cat is both, but these two are a bit more adventurous than her and I'm worried they'll leave without knowing they're leaving." Iliana said, crossing her arms across her lap "But then they might be jealous because the other cat gets to go out and then they'll be all depressed and that is not okay."

Darkdoom nodded slowly as Pietor scowled in confusion, eyes flicking toward the ceiling.

"I don't really think cats get depressed from things like that." Raven said.

"Wrong!" Iliana replied "When cats feel when they're being denied something, they usually go into hiding, sometimes out of shame, sometimes just because they feel bad."

"And what did you say when I told you to get a dog?" Pietor asked, bending down to rub Drake's stomach. The dog twisted each and every way, tongue waving as he tried to get at the hand touching him.

"I said I would get a dog in the future and that for now I wanted cats." Iliana said.

"Yeah, I guess you did." Pietor admitted grudgingly.

"Just try letting them out one at a time and watching them to see what they do." Anastasia said.

"Yeah, I guess." Iliana said.

There were a couple moments of silence and they just listened to the fire burning in the fireplace as now in the afternoon it had cooled off quite a bit.

"Hey yo Pietor." Shelby said.

"Yeah?" Pietor asked, almost reluctantly in his dragged out tone.

"So I have an assignment and I need to give you a quiz." she said.

"Eh…I don't like tests." Pietor replied, wincing.

"Who does?" Iliana asked.

"No really this one is really going to be easy." Shelby said "All you do is answer some questions and they are really easy."

"Mmmph…why?" Pietor grumbled.

"Because it's a grade and I have to talk to someone who is really good at stealth and evasion." Shelby said, then smiled "Let's get started."

Pietor looked really grumpy even as she started.

"So exactly how long have you been an assassin?" Shelby asked, grabbing her pen and paper that had been sitting on the table next to her since she remembered the assignment.

He scowled "Why do you need to know that?"

"Because. It's a question. Now come on."

Anastasia leaned over to Nero "We might as well have her talk to a British palace guard. She'll get more answers that way."

Nero chuckled and nodded in agreement.

The others continued talking for a little while as Shelby grilled Pietor. He kept leaning to see what she was writing and Shelby would tilt it back in annoyance.

"You'll get to see it at the end." she would scold.

After a few minutes, she got to the last few questions.

"Alright so what stream do you think you would fit best into? Alpha, Henchmen, Political/Financial, or Technical stream?" Shelby asked, looking back at him.

"I got this." Anastasia said "He would test to be in the Henchmen, but he would fit in the Alphas."

"You think so?" Shelby asked "Well that will be interesting."

"Oh good are we done?" Pietor asked, leaning back.

"No not quite." Shelby said, writing down on the paper "Now I have to give you the actual test, but don't worry, they're all opinion based questions."

"What kind of questions did Ms. Leon give you?" Nero asked.

"Just a few basic ones that will supposedly determine where people would go." Shelby said "Okay, here we go."

But Pietor put the blanket he had been sitting on over his head and laid it back on the couch.

"All done."

Shelby narrowed her eyes and chucked her pen at him. It hit the blanket right where his head was and Pietor pulled off the blanket, glaring.

"You want to play that game?" he asked, standing up rather abruptly.

"Whoa whoa." Shelby said, pulling her legs onto the couch in a fetal position as he walked at her quickly. He stopped about a foot from her and, eyes narrowed and turned back to sit down.

After a moment, Shelby put her legs back down and smiled "Can you hand me my pen?"

Pietor gave her a deep scowl, head tilted forward. Iliana leaned down and tossed the pen back to Shelby, chuckling.

"So…can I start?" Shelby asked cautiously.

"He'll answer them." Iliana said, nudging him gently.

The Colonel leaned over to Nero "I can only imagine what the Henchmen would say about the Alphas."

Nero nodded in amusement.

"I just like how the Political people are _popular _nerds." Darkdoom said "Although I see what she was thinking."

"She left out the financial part." Nero said, smiling.

"Sometimes I wonder if it was right to have Nigel in the Alpha stream." Darkdoom said ponderingly "He is awfully timid."

"He has seemed to leave that more and more behind as his years progress." Nero replied.

Laura snorted "Do you think? He's as popular as can be. Everyone knows him as the boy with the father that's G.L.O.V.E.'s leader's best friend."

"Really?" Darkdoom asked, with a slighty nervous smile "Not the boy who almost had the school destroyed his first year?"

"Not really." Wing said.

"I think enough other things have happened to make people to forget that." Laura said "Besides he's also kind of known as being Raven's favorite because of what she said to him during a class."

"What?" Darkdoom asked, glancing at Raven, but she was focused on the conversation between Pietor and Shelby.

"Yeah, when I had her come into one of my classes." the Colonel said "She gave him a rather fierce pep talk if I recall."

"What did she say?" Darkdoom asked.

"Something along the lines of 'Nigel Darkdoom, will you buck up and do something? I mean it! You've got a brilliant father, you're at a brilliant school, and you have some pretty brilliant talents! So quit feeling sorry for yourself and do this already!" Laura said "By the way, it was like a grappler course thing and Nigel was being a little mope that day."

"She said that?" Darkdoom asked, smiling "Aww…I never knew she cared."

"Then everyone was like 'well if we talk bad to him, we've got Raven coming after us.'" Laura finished.

Darkdoom smiled and Nero made the "hmmph" face, slowly nodding. Darkdoom nudged Raven with his foot and she glanced down at it.

"What?"

He just continued to smile, until Raven kind of raised an eyebrow and looked back away.

"Alright. Getting your results." Shelby said, writing down numbers on the paper. After a moment, she smiled, holding it up.

"You were right Anastasia. He scored to be a Henchman." she said and Anastasia nodded knowingly.

"_Now _is it done?" Pietor asked.

"Yes, sir." Shelby responded.

"Good."

"Now I kind of want to see if the actual test would prove Anastasia's theory right." Shelby said "Would you ever consider coming back to H.I.V.E. and doing that?"

"No." Pietor replied.

"Why not?" Shelby asked "You know you could totally come and live at H.I.V.E. and be a teacher and like-"

"I'm good." Pietor said, laying his head back and putting the blanket back over it.

"Wouldn't you want to come and live there?" Shelby asked "I mean I didn't like it at first either but it's pretty sweet now. You were there for like two weeks."

"Oh yeah I actually have a really funny story about that." Anastasia said, sitting up straight. Everyone glanced at her.

"What?" Pietor asked, voice muffled by the blanket.

"So we got there right? And went to our room. Well I guess Pietor didn't really know about your artificial intelligence guy there and-"

"I knew about him." Pietor protested, the blanket falling down "I just didn't…_think_ about him."

"What happened?" Nero asked, smiling as he sensed that the story was going to be good.

"So we walked in here and I tossed the suitcases onto the bed and then all the sudden from nowhere came 'Welcome Pietor and Anastasia Furan.'" Pietor said.

"And he jumped about two feet in the air." Anastasia continued smiling.

"Yeah well he came from this little thing on the counter behind me and I was not expecting a little blue thing to pop out at me." Pietor said.

"So Hivemind asked us if we need anything and all those questions and of course Pietor was halfway to his gun as an instinct." Anastasia carried on "And the whole time I was talking to Hivemind, Pietor's behind it, freaking out at me to get him away."

They all laughed and Pietor just shook his head.

"Who are you joking? Hivemind's the best." Shelby exclaimed in laughter.

"Nope. Nopity nope." Pietor said.

"So like a person that was _made_?" Iliana asked, gaping at them "_Artificial_?"

"Yep." Nero replied "Personality and all, except originally he wasn't supposed to be that way."

"Sweet mother!" Iliana exclaimed "It's like a sci-fi book! That's creepy!"

"She agrees." Pietor said, holding out a hand in front of her. Iliana slapped it.

"I had no problem with it." Anastasia said "Although he really did come out of nowhere."

"Hey do people ever get married at your school? Because I seems like the divorce rate would be extremely high after they left and got back out to the real world." Iliana said, out of the blue.

Nero took a second to chuckle "No. No they do not."

"You know what I want?" Pietor asked.

"A _divorce_?" Shelby asked, clearly still on Iliana's topic.

They just stopped and looked at her.

Pietor squinted and pointed a finger "We'd have to be married first."

"Well she just was on the topic of divorce and you piped up and were like 'You know what I want?'" Shelby said, deliberately making his words sound dumb.

"Yeah now I kind of want to hit you." Pietor said "And I don't_ pipe_ up!"

"Piper!" Shelby said, hitting her thigh with a fist.

"These conversations get weirder by the day." Anastasia muttered.

###

**Several hours later…9 pm…**

Raven walked up to her room, still feeling amused after the particularly long day. But as much as she hated to admit it, the way Pietor treated the students and Iliana always sprang up a twig of jealousy. He was grumpy, no one could deny that but it hurt to see him help other girls and not have done the same for her. If she'd ever gone up to Pietor to ask questions as a kid, she would probably have been put in a cell for the night. Or at least been given a good whipping. Darkdoom quite often told her to let her hair down and relax, but her trust for people in general had been rather tainted. She'd decided to head up to bed early, even though the others were still down there and getting ready to start a movie.

She missed David for that very reason. She'd known she could trust him from the very second they'd met. And the fact that he loved kids added another layer of trustworthiness to him.

While she changed, her phone lit up from on top of the dresser. Quickly getting dressed, she walked over to it. She scowled at the unknown number, then felt a small spark of excitement, hoping it was another clue. Her face slowly changed as she read it.

**Unknown:**_Hi Natalya, I believe this is your number. This is Mrs. Ludwig, David's mother. This is never an easy thing to write. I just wanted to contact you and let you know you have my strongest condolences. And that you have someone to share your grief with. I am going to be completely honest with you. The day after David met you, I saw something in him I haven't ever seen before and as a mother it's easy to spot. I know how much he cared about you from the short time he knew you and I truly believe that your relationship would have progressed a lot from that point. He spoke very fondly of you. I would love to be there to say this to you in person, but unfortunately this is all I can do right now, but in the future I would love to meet you. I'm sorry I didn't know who you were at the funeral and that I can't give you my sympathies in person. It has been a hard time for all. When David's father died, I wanted to tell you what David said. He said "God didn't want someone so perfect to be tainted by this world." I truly believe the same for David. As a mother I couldn't have loved him more and I am going to miss him with all my heart as I'm sure many will. I would like to extend my deepest love to you and all who are grieving. With love, Emily._

Raven slowly sat down on her bed, a hand rising to cover her mouth. She didn't know how David's mother had gotten her number and it was a different number than who had given her the message about the president.

For a couple minutes, she just sat there, trying to shake off the painful ache that was forming in her throat. She kept rereading it and realized after a moment that she was crying. The phone went back on her dresser as Raven got up to wipe her eyes. She glanced back at the door, making sure that Nero wasn't trying to sneak up and comfort her as he often did. Luckily, no one was there and she continued cleaning herself up. She was grateful for the fact that she hadn't received this text downstairs.

After a few minutes and until she felt comfortable, she decided to turn off her phone and go to sleep. It seemed like the best option to calm down before Nero or anyone else noticed.

Raven grabbed her phone and was about to click it all the way off when it buzzed again. She thought about ignoring it before realizing that it was a different number.

**Unknown: **_The President will land at the Convit meeting center in __Samara in exactly two days. He is prepped for attack. Do not go in unprepared. He will have many squads of men. They are always watching. Pietor and Iliana must examine this closely. Do not reply to this -3_

Raven's finger tapped on the back of the phone and she pushed her grief to the back of her head. Now was the time forvengeance.


	44. We're Back

**Please Review! **

**Two days later...**

"Natalya…what are you trying to say?" Nero asked, glancing at her. Raven grabbed her katana sheath to strap onto her back.

"I'm saying that the messages coming through have to be from an ally. Because clearly they want to help us." Raven said.

"But who could it possibly be?" Nero asked "No one knows about Pietor's betrayal to the Convit except for the President, so no one would know that we need help."

"There is one other person that knew." Raven said quietly and Nero sighed mentally, not wanting to tackle this right now.

The two of them were in her room and they had originally been discussing their next plans on what to do if this chance of finding the President failed. They would probably have to get all of G.L.O.V.E. in on it, as a precaution. The Furans were preparing their men for departure.

"Natalya, I know what you're hoping but…" he sighed aloud "I don't want you to get your hopes up."

"We don't know-"

"Natalya." Nero said, cutting her off gently "If David was alive, he would have found his way back to us by now. He wouldn't be sending us messages."

"He might be being kept prisoner." Raven said, wincing as the name was spoken.

"Do you think they would give him a random cell phone? It's not even his number." Nero said forcibly, hoping to warn her away from the thought of it. It would only end up in disappointment.

It evidently didn't work as Raven looked away, face still troubled.

"If Pietor's accepted it, I think you need to too." Nero went on, voice softening "We need to focus on the task at hand, which is finding the President and getting rid of the Convit. Natalya." she glanced at him and he met her gaze "I need _you_ to focus."

Raven didn't move for a second before nodding.

###

"Is Pietor letting you come this time?" Shelby asked Iliana glumly, already knowing the answer. Dr. Nero was still restricting both Shelby and Laura from coming, for safety only.

"He can't stop me this time." Iliana said. She was loading a gun, which was a shocking sight for some reason.

"That's what I said about Dr. Nero but it didn't work out to well." Shelby muttered "Although if Pietor doesn't want you to come, I'm pretty sure he could just carry you back inside and tie you down."

"Please don't give him ideas." Iliana said with a wink and smile.

"Are you guys flying there this time?" Laura asked, glancing at the garage. Iliana nodded.

"It would take too long to drive."

"Are you ready?" Darkdoom asked Iliana, walking down the stairs alongside Wing. She nodded again.

"We can load and leave. Where are Max and Natalya?"

"Upstairs. They're coming." Darkdoom said. He smiled slightly "Pietor's letting you come this time?"

"He'll try to persuade me not to but I honestly don't care." Iliana said.

Nero and Raven appeared at the top of the stairs and began to walk down.

"Hey, can I read the message again?" Iliana asked. Everyone was still confused as to why the message had specifically asked for Pietor and Iliana because neither of them found anything useful. Raven nodded and pulled out her phone to hand to her.

Iliana opened the message and began studying.

"What are you two doing down here?" Nero asked, pointing two fingers at the girls.

"We're just waiting to send you off." Shelby said, with a nervous smile.

"Or you're secretly planning to stow away and then later sabotage our mission." Raven said with a completely straight face.

"I wouldn't put them above that." Wing said and Shelby scowled at him in betrayal.

"So I think you should go and sit down on the couches until we leave just so I can keep an eye one you." Nero said.

"We didn't try last time." Shelby said and Nero scowled until her and Laura obeyed and went to sit on the couches.

"Oh my gosh." Iliana exclaimed "Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh!"

"What?" Nero asked as Raven and Darkdoom looked over.

"Ooooh." Iliana whirled around "I gotta show this to Pietor!"

###

"It's Alex!" Iliana exclaimed, shoving the phone to Pietor's face. He leaned back and grabbed it from her irritably. He read the message a couple times, scowling, before looking back up.

"How do you know that? There's nothing here that would point to that."

"No no no look look look!" Iliana said, taking it "Remember what everyone called you and David at work?"

Pietor raised an eyebrow. Anastasia, Nero and the others just watched, mostly confused.

"Look." Iliana said, as if explaining it to a child "You're one. David was two and Alex is three. It was right after you became first counselor!"

Pietor blinked several times "Oh my word. You're right."

"It's Alex!" Iliana exclaimed.

"But why would he be helping us?" Nero asked uncertainly "He's with the President."

"And that's not his number." Anastasia pointed out "Why would he contact us through a random phone?"

"Because the President can check under his registered number to see what he texts." Pietor said.

"So how did he get my number?" Raven asked.

"Probably from checking Iliana's or my past texts to you." Pietor replied and she noticed that he deliberately left out David's name.

"He threatened to shoot us last time." Nero argued.

"But he didn't." Iliana replied.

"If he helped us on our second attack, then why would he have protected the President?" Darkdoom asked.

"I honestly don't know." Pietor said.

"It could be a trap." Nero said "If Alex is working alongside the President and he tells us when to come, that may be because they will be there earlier to attack."

"But it didn't happen like that last time." Raven said and Nero glanced at her.

"I agree, however." Anastasia said "It seems suspicious, yes?"

"It's not like we can do anything else at the moment, though." Darkdoom pointed out.

"The message says he is prepped for attack." Nero said "That almost sounds like a threat."

"But it also told _us_ to be prepared." Iliana said, as Pietor appeared to be taking no part in this conversation.

"For what though?" Nero asked "War? A fight?"

"I think he just means we need a firm attack strength." Anastasia said.

"If that's so, then that's what we're going to give him." Pietor growled, turning to head towards the door.

###

**Several hours later… **

The Convit meetings centers were always the largest buildings, as there were only seven of them around Russia. They were built with a congregation center to holder at least fifty-thousand people. There were no fences surrounding this building, no guards even, except on the inside.

However, several squads of men with the G.L.O.V.E. symbol on their uniforms were now taking up positions around it.

The President had already arrived, as they could see from his helicopter on the landing pad, yet no guards were on the outside.

They weren't taking chances this time. The Colonel ordered his men to surround the building, except for the front door, at least until they were inside. Another squad of men followed them into the main entrance.

When they walked in, it was quiet. It was a very decorative place in fact. There were several long columns that went to the ceiling that were covered in beautiful patterns and the floor was covered in glossy gray tiles. The wall that you first saw when you came in had a large set of double doors and when you looked up, you could see the second floor. On either side of the double doors, there were two halls, both leading in two different directions.

"Alright-" the Colonel was cut off as he tried to give instructions to the men by a loud gunshot.

Then all hell broke loose.

Pietor shoved Anastasia back, who involuntarily fell into Iliana as bullets started flying by. The Colonel's men looked around, pulling out their guns before realizing that the bullets were coming from the floor above them.

Nero and Darkdoom pressed against the opposite wall that the men upstairs were firing from, taking out their own guns. Raven, Wing, and the Colonel were behind one of the thick columns, which seemed to be the target of the men. Pietor, Anastasia, and Iliana were behind the one a few feet away.

Pietor leaned over to fire several shots at them.

Raven pulled out her own pistol and pressed another into Wing's palm. He looked up at her, slowly shaking his head.

"I don't care if you're not shooting to kill." she said "I need you to shoot."

She turned and joined the others firing. One of their bullets hit its mark as one of the guards grunted loudly in pain and limped back, blood soaking his lower left leg.

There were twelve people on the bottom floor and five of the President's men up there. However, they had the advantage of height and vision.

A moment later, the men backed off and Pietor leaned to catch a glimpse of them, helping the man who had been injured walk away.

"They're gone." he said, walking out from behind the pillar.

"But they know we're here." Nero said, tucking his gun away.

"We need to get around him and his men into the lobby." Pietor said "Then we can shut down the operations around Russia."

"I can do that." Anastasia said, walking forward "I know how to get there. You deal with the President."

Pietor opened his mouth to speak, but didn't say anything.

"I'll go with her." Raven said, stepping forward, knowing that was what was bothering him "And Wing so we can meet you later and catch the President off guard."

Anastasia nodded, then Nero, and finally Pietor, although he didn't look happy about it.

"We'll go the other way." he said, gesturing at the left hall "Come to the conference room when you're done so we can meet up."

"Good. Let's go." Anastasia said, already turning.

Pietor watched her a second before turning with Nero and the others.

###

"Where did Furan and the others go?" the President asked, shuffling through papers quickly in the conference room. Alex stood beside him, keeping a close eye on the door.

"The men said they saw some of them heading toward the lobby office. They couldn't tell who though." he said.

"They split up?" the President asked.

"I believe so."

"Good. Then send men through both of the halls."

"Yes, sir."

Alex turned to leave, but the President spoke again.

"Actually, Alex." he said, turning "Send Valerian to the lobby. Give him a gun."

###

Pietor and Nero led the group down the now wide hallway. Iliana, Darkdoom, and the Colonel were right behind bringing up the rear. The squad of men had gone upstairs in pursuit of the guards and there was no word from them yet.

The men were fighting on the outside of the building however, and you could hear the sounds of battle.

As they continued to hurry down the hall, the noises seemed to get louder and Pietor realized that they were coming from the corridor in front of them.

"Do you hear that?" he asked.

"That has to be at least ten men." Nero said.

"Get in here." Pietor said, backing up until he was in the crevice of the door leading to an office. The five of them separated into the two door spaces.

The squad of them came around the corner, all dressed in black. They had the Convit sign on their chests and each had an assault rifle.

Pietor waited until about half the line had passed before stepping out. He grabbed the gun from the man's back and hit him hard on the back of the neck. The other men were just drawing their weapons as he fell and Pietor continued with ease. Nero stepped out as well, butting the lead man, who was closest to him, on the back of his head and he collapsed.

After successfully rendering the whole group unconscious, Pietor kept just one of them awake. He pinned him against the wall, one hand on his throat. The man glared at him, but there was panic in his eyes.

"Where is the President?" Pietor asked, voice cold as ice. He narrowed his eyes at the man threateningly.

"Get…off…me…Furan." the man hissed back, breathless from having his throat compressed.

Pietor slammed him back against the wall again "_Where is he!_"

The man stared back at him, eyes hard "He's waiting for you. He's in the conference room. You won't be able to-"

Pietor hit him back one more time and he fell to the ground, unconscious. He turned, beckoning the others with him. Looking down at all the fallen men, Nero wondered why Pietor had left all of them alive.

Then he remembered that Iliana was with them and that Pietor probably wasn't going to kill too much in front of her. Surprisingly under the circumstances, he smiled a little.

###

Raven kicked down the door to the lobby, gun raised and ready, but there were no guards there. She lowered it and walked in. The lobby was in the back of the building oddly enough. The doors to the outside were chained shut, literally. There were several couches and chairs arranged in the center of the room.

"Shelby might actually have been helpful at this point." Wing said, looking down at the door.

"I agree, but at least we're in." Raven said, walking forward.

"Over here." Anastasia said, going over to the door that led to the office. She twisted the unlocked handle, but stopped at the sound of a gun being cocked.

"Step back from the door." came a familiar voice and all three turned around to see Valerian there.

He glared at them, pistol raised and finger on the trigger.

Anastasia smiled, but it wasn't a smile of greeting or happiness. It was a smile of satisfaction.

"Hello, Valerian."

"Get back from the door." he repeated. Anastasia's face slowly drifted off.

"Do you dare to point a gun at me?" she said, tilting her head forward slightly, eyes narrowing. Raven's eyes flicked between them.

Valerian said nothing, but kept his eyes trained on her.

"Put it down." Anastasia ordered, her voice soft and icy.

He still stared, but Raven could see the gun was visibly shaking.

"Now." Anastasia said, glaring at him coldly. Raven unconsciously moved closer to Wing, whether to protect him or herself, it was unknown.

Valerian slowly lowered the gun, obviously trying to keep his face neutral, but he was failing horribly.

"Drop it." Anastasia growled and he did.

"Now." she said, walking over to him. His eyes widened at her approach, but he didn't move. Anastasia bent to pick up the gun and pointed it at him.

"Get out of here."

Valerian didn't wait to be told twice before whipping around and fleeing out the door that Raven had broken down. Wing looked after him, eyes perplexed.

Anastasia came back over to the door, gun still in hand and opened it. Raven went after her, purposely in front of Wing. In the room in front of them was a row of desks, the center one with a computer on it.

Anastasia went over to it and quickly typed in something, using her brother's password.

"They'll likely be sending men after us now." she said, clicking with the mouse. "Keep an eye on the door."

Raven watched her for a second, eyes narrowed. She slowly backed up towards the door, but only a few feet from Anastasia.

As Anastasia continued to type, there came a sharp beeping noise. She looked up at the screen.

SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE INITIATED

"Get back!" she shouted, leaping up from the chair.

There was a loud bang that came from the room and smoke floated from the open door.

Anastasia pushed herself to her knees, looking up for Raven and Wing, waving away smoke. The two of them were both getting to their feet.

"Are either of you hurt?" she asked, slowly getting to her feet. Since she had been the closest, she had a nasty scratch from the back of her right cheek to her neck that was bleeding, but nothing serious.

Raven shook her head "What happened?"

"It must have been rigged to blow if Pietor signed in." Anastasia said, looking at where the computer had been.

###

The President was escorted by both Alex and ten of his best personal men from the conference room into a large gathering room they had for seminars and introduction ceremonies.

"Alex, contact our men on the outside and tell them that they have clearance to shoot to kill now. We need to get out of here." the President said.

Alex nodded and lifted his radio to give the new order. The President scanned the room quickly. He didn't want to meet up with Pietor this time. It would probably just end up costing his men's lives at this point. He knew Pietor was out for revenge, but he also knew that once he killed both Iliana and Anastasia, he would be much easier to manipulate.

One of his men suddenly hissed in pain as a bullet ripped by his arm, tearing out a chunk of flesh which started to bleed profusely. The President looked up, teeth clenched at where the bullet had come from.

"Thought you missed us?" Pietor asked, walking up from the long hall in front of him, his silenced pistol raised. Nero, Darkdoom, the Colonel, and Iliana followed.

The President motioned at two of his men "Take him and get that looked at quickly." he said, pointing at the injured man.

They did so, cautiously watching Pietor and the others as they helped him away. Alex narrowed his eyes at Pietor.

"I'm starting to think we're playing hide and seek Pietor." the President said, taking a step forward.

"Too bad that seeking is easier in this case." Pietor growled, eyes flicking to Alex.

There were loud footsteps from the hall behind him, but the President didn't turn, only his men did.

Anastasia came forward, with Wing and Raven.

"Aww…I was wondering where you had sent them off too." the President said, turning to the side so he could see everyone "Find everything okay Anastasia?"

She glared at him, eyes hard "Perfectly."

"I'm sure you were rather disgusted to find that although we didn't wipe Pietor's access codes, we had a backup plan in case you tried to break in." the President said "Oh and by the way." he looked back at Pietor and the others "Welcome Iliana. I see that you were allowed to come this time."

She glared at him, without saying anything. The Colonel leaned to speak into his earpiece without being noticed.

"You know I really am starting to wonder if it was the best option to have Pietor join the Convit. You and David never would have become traitors if he hadn't." the President went on "Such a shame…"

"There are plenty of traitors in this organization, don't try and patronize her for it." Pietor growled, looking at Alex.

"Oh now I see what you meant when you said seeking was easier." the President said with a smile "You figured out it was Alex sending you the messages didn't you?"

Alex looked at the President in horror.

"Yes I knew. I knew the whole time." the President said, then looked back at Pietor "But I also know that he will never betray me personally, unlike some."

"You think I ever would have joined you if I'd known what you've done?" Pietor hissed.

"No. But that was the point right?" the President asked, with a smile "You may as well face facts Pietor. You've been played. And your sister died because of it."

The men that the Colonel had ordered to come suddenly burst through the giant glass window several feet above their heads.

Everyone ducked as glass shards flew everywhere and the men landed and immediately drew their weapons. The President's men scattered to fight and you could hear more troops coming from the hall behind Raven and Anastasia. Raven turned around and drew her katanas quickly.

The President yelled something in Russian at his men as fighting broke out between the two sides.

Pietor went straight into the fight, determined to get through to the President. Wing fought next to Raven as Anastasia made her way toward Nero and the others.

Alex backed off from the fight. His eyes flicked between Pietor and the President as he slipped down the hall.

Raven elbowed a man in the jaw and he fell back to the wall as her katanas flew through the air. She kicked the next man in the stomach and twisted around closer to the men. Dodging a blow, she ducked and jabbed at the man's legs. He fell back into Wing, who hit him hard across the neck.

Another man from across the room sprinted at Raven, while her back was turned. He was just about to land a hard hit to her head as she turned when he was slammed to the ground by another person. Raven stared in shock as Valerian got up. He gave her a nod before continuing to fight. She watched him for a second, and then turned to the other men attacking.

Pietor twisted the man's neck and moving onto the next. He had a long deep cut on his forehead that was from the glass that had gone flying. The President had his gun and was shooting at all the Furan's and G.L.O.V.E.'s men. He had yet to kill anyone which was what he was trying to avoid for some reason. Nero looked over at Raven and Wing and his eyes widened at the other man fighting alongside them. _What was Valerian doing?_

Pietor was surrounded by some of his men as he went for the President. They fought the other men trying to protect the President, off. But the battle was easing off as more and more of the President's men were killed or rendered unconscious.

"Pietor, this is pathetic." the President hissed at him "All your friends will be killed and the Convit will still remain."

"Not if I kill you." Pietor snarled.

"What is this all about? We were thriving Pietor! Thriving!" the President spat, losing his composure "We could have taken G.L.O.V.E.!"

"You killed Elena and David!" Pietor snarled "That's enough!"

"They were the tragedies of gaining power! Nothing more, nothing less!" the President replied angrily "You can't grieve forever, Pietor."

Pietor glared at him and ran forward. The President shouted at one of his men in Russian and the man raised a gun, aiming at Anastasia.

"No!" Pietor shouted, letting the President turned to run as he shoved the man to the ground. Anastasia turned sharply, eyes widening.

The President took one step before a purple blade slid out of his chest. He gasped in pain and his eyes widened in shock.

Raven pulled her katana out and he fell backwards. He tried to speak but he couldn't.

As his eyes closed and the last breath left his body, Raven lowered her katanas.

"Now _that_ was for Elena." she said softly "And for David."

The President's men, or what was left of them, knowing they were defeated, backed up and ran down the hall. Valerian went with them.

Pietor got to his feet, breathing heavily. He looked at Raven and down at the President for a second.

Nero looked around at the scene slowly before walking over to Raven, who hadn't moved from that spot.

Iliana walked over to Pietor and Anastasia, taking a deep breath.

"Are you alright?" Nero asked Raven quietly. She nodded, but he saw that she wasn't really.

Iliana put an exhausted hand on Pietor's arm and gently punched him in the gut "Success man."

"Yeah, come're." Pietor grabbed her, swung her down and kissed her. Iliana's eyes were wide for a second before she put a hand on his face and kissed him back.

Everyone gasped silently and Anastasia took a step back, hands covering her mouth.

**Please review!**


	45. Back Home

**Please review! (Cause this is the last chappie! :,))**

The next morning was a slow one in the Furan's place. Everyone moved in a cloud of contentment yet they all seemed a little reluctant to leave, although Nero had scheduled a G.L.O.V.E. council meeting to announce the alliance or more so peace treaty with the Furans.

The students had packed up their stuff and were waiting in their rooms for the sad announcement of when to leave. Even though they had been away from their studies for more than a month.

Nero went to if Raven was ready in her room but surprisingly, she wasn't there. He walked back down the stairs and into the kitchen, where Darkdoom and Iliana were sitting.

"Diabolus, have you seen Natalya?" he asked, concerned when his friend shook his head.

"I did." Iliana said, raising her hand slightly as if in class "She went out early this morning. I think on a walk or jog or something."

Nero frowned. She hadn't told him anything about that. "Did she say where?"

"No but she seemed a little distracted." Iliana tossed him her car keys "You can take my car to go and look for her if you like. She probably just wanted a moment alone."

Nero nodded "Thanks Iliana."

###

Nero drove around for more than fifteen minutes around the trails and around the park where they had originally gone walking, but he saw no sign of her. He was getting ready to try her Blackbox and have Diabolus call her phone, but then he had an idea.

He turned around and went down the road that led to the cemetery.

After several minutes, he drove up the hill until he could see the grave stones. Then he stopped the car and shut off the engine, gazing out his window.

Raven stood in front of David's grave, arms folded. She hadn't looked back, either not caring who was there, or not hearing someone drive up.

Nero waited a few moments before slowly opening his door and stepping out. Hands in his pockets, he walked over to her. She wasn't crying, her eyes weren't even red. In fact, she just appeared to be staring down at the grave indifferently, but he knew better than that.

"Are you going to be okay?" he asked, walking up behind her and breaking the silence. It wasn't one of the routine questions people were obligated to ask in these situations, he genuinely needed to know. Raven looked back slightly, then back at the grave without saying anything.

Nero went over to stand beside her, looking down at it as well. There always appeared to be fresh flowers all around it.

They stood in silence for a little while, seeming content with the small breeze and rustle of the trees. It took Nero several minutes to think about what to say. Hopefully something that would help her through this.

Then Raven spoke.

"I don't know who designed this, but look what they added." she said, pointing at the stone, right above the inscription. Nero leaned forward slightly.

He hadn't seen it the first time, during the funeral, but now that he looked carefully, he realized that there were pictures of feathers in the stone. A raven's feathers.

Raven's face didn't change at all as he put an arm around her.

"Well whoever it was they must've known." he said softly.

There were a few more moment of silence between them, then Nero spoke again.

"Natalya, you know we can come here whenever you want." he said, glancing at her "I just need to know if you're going to be okay."

It took her a few seconds, but Raven nodded. Nero looked back at the grave, content with letting her be in silence.

###

Nero got up from the table in the large G.L.O.V.E. meeting room as everyone else got up to chat amongst themselves. With many well planned words and by the Furans and Raven's presence, the announcement of the alliance with the Furans had gone smoothly, with a few discontented mutters, but Nero had expected that.

Pietor was over with Iliana now, talking, but Anastasia walked over to him. She looked happier then he had seen her in a long time.

"Thank you, Max." she said with a dip of her head "We couldn't have done this without you."

"Oh I think you could have." Nero replied with a smile "But as Pietor said, this was simpler.

Anastasia smiled back just as Darkdoom walked over.

"I see the two lovebirds are still at it." he said, looking over at Pietor and Iliana in amusement.

"Took him long enough." Anastasia replied.

They watched the two for a moment before Darkdoom turned.

"I'm going to grab Natalya. Just a second."

Nero watched him for a second, then looked at Anastasia.

"You know, if you and Pietor wanted, seeing as there may be new arrangements." he said with a nod at Iliana "I'd like to extend the offer of perhaps…joining G.L.O.V.E.?"

Anastasia opened her mouth, then looked back at Pietor.

"Thank you for the offer." she said "But I think for now we're going to try it on our own for a little while. I think we all need time to recover and get used to our new circumstances."

Nero nodded "I understand, but if you ever change your mind, you know where to contact me."

Anastasia nodded.

"Here she is." Darkdoom said, ushering Raven up to the group.

"I was never far away." Raven said.

"Heeeeyyy." Iliana said, walking up to them as well with Pietor "What's up?"

"Nothing more than there ever is, Iliana." Nero said, smiling.

"You all just looked like you were expecting something." Iliana replied.

Nero shook his head in amusement.

"Welp." Iliana held out her hand "See ya chumps."

Darkdoom smiled and Nero raised an eyebrow as they all shook hands. Iliana turned to Raven and held out her arms. The assassin raised an eyebrow and Iliana spread them further.

"Eh?"

Raven rolled her eyes and Iliana went to hug her, smiling.

"If you guys are ever back in Russia, you gotta call us up." Iliana said, backing up next to Pietor "Promise?"

"Oh I promise." Nero said with a nod.

Pietor saluted them with two fingers and all three of them turned to go through the door.

Nero, Raven, and Darkdoom all watched until the door closed, before going through their own door toward the waiting Shroud.

**Please review! I have loved to write this story and thank you so much to all who have reviewed!**


End file.
